Vampire Academy my version of the last sacrifice
by DaniellexangL3
Summary: Rose will face death, Lissa will learn the truth and hearts will be both broken and won as this final Journey comes to an end. written before final book of the series was released Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction story and I am actually writing this for my personal project for school. So all comments and notes of Criticism are welcome.  
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter and I will regulary be updating that rest of them :) **

**~*~Chapter one~*~**

HER SCREAMS AWOKE ME FROM MY dreams. Lissa hadn't dreamt of her parent's car accident since we had run away. But with the stress of everything that's been happening, her spirit side effects are starting to get to her.

I wish I could go to her and hug her and tell her that everything will be ok. But I had been stuck in this cell for over 48 hours and still hadn't heard a scrap of news. I wasn't allowed visitors, which for once, I was kind of glad. Even though I would love to be there for Lissa, I couldn't bear to see right now. Not with knowing that her life is about to be turned upside down again. But with no-one to talk to, and with Lissa's spirit side affects starting to seep into me, I am starting to go crazy.

Thomas, who is a guardian here at the royal court, has been the only familiar face I have seen. I met him when I was trying to steal files out of the guardian's headquarters. He had discovered me, and could have turned me in, but in our confrontation we discovered that we had something in common. It was something that nobody else could ever understand. We had both lost the person we loved. But not in death, they had suffered a worse fate. They had both been turned Stirgoi. But when I told him that there might be hope, that there might be away to turn Dimitri back to normal, he let me go.

And I had been right. My best friend and Moroi, Lissa, had charmed a stake, used to kill Stirgoi, with a fifth and almost unheard of element called Spirit. She had been able to stake him through the heart, which was all that was needed to change him back to the man that I love. But, it turns out that he didn't love me anymore.  
I almost began to cry as his words echoed through my mind. "Love fades…"  
I sat up on the cot, trying to push back and forget the past.

I didn't want to think about Dimitri, not when I had other important things to worry about. At that moment, Thomas walked up to the bars of my cell and gave me a sympathetic smile. He asked the two other guardians nearby if he could have a moment to speak with me alone. They were hesitant, but finally nodded and walked down the hall, just out of earshot. I stood up and slowly walked over to the bars. I almost tripped several times. My legs were shaky and numb from having layed down for so long.

"What's up," I asked. "I'm guessing that you're not here for a friendly chat."

His perfect guardian facial expression gave away nothing, but his eyes told me everything. He didn't look too pleased about what he was about to say next.

"They've decided when to hold your trial, and how you'll receive your… punishment if they find you guilty." His voice faulted at the word punishment. We both knew that it wasn't just going to be a slap across the wrist or a jail sentence. My life literally depended on the way the trial would unfold.  
"

So, when is it?" I tried to sound brave when I asked, but I knew he could see right through me.

"It will be held in five days." He said it has nicely as he could, but it still felt like a slap across the face.

"Great, only five days left to live." I walked over to the side wall and let my body slump against it.

"Don't say that Rose. There's still hope, you'll be able to find the evidence you need to prove your innocence." He was trying so hard to keep my spirits up, but we both knew the truth. I was a lost cause.

"Please, just stop. We both know that isn't going to happen. Whoever framed me did a pretty damn good job, and even if there was some proof out there that could help me win this case, there is still the plain fact that I am stuck in this stupid cell!" I hadn't realised I was yelling until I had stopped.  
"Sorry," I apologised. "It's just all a bit too much."

We stayed in silence for a few minutes until I remembered something. I fished out the Queen's note and walked back over to where Thomas was standing. I handed him the note, which he took curiously.

"What's this?"

"It's a note that I need you to pass on to Adrian for me," I didn't ask, but Thomas understood the importance from my tone and stealthily slipped it into his jacket.  
"And please, tell him that he needs to wait until the right moment to tell Lissa. And that the only other people who can know about this are Christian, Eddie, Mia and you. If you don't want to get involved, I understand. But this is something that Lissa really needs to know, so please make sure he gets it." He looked slightly shocked that I had picked him as one of the people to trust. But a small smile spread across his face in appreciation.

"I will make sure he gets it and I will help the Princess in any way I can." I nodded and thanked him, grateful that Lissa would have one other person willing to help her.

"Do you reckon I could have some alone time, please?" I asked. He nodded and began to walk away, but I quickly stopped him as I remembered the question that I was sure he was trying to avoid answering. It hurt me to ask, but I needed to know. "Thomas?" He turned on the spot and met my gaze. "How will I be punished?" I could see his face droop in grief. He looked like he wasn't going to answer, which only increased my fear. "Please?" I begged. "I need to know."

He sighed deeply, and answered, "If they find you guilty, you will be hanged by the neck until death."  
I quickly whipped away the tears that had escaped my eyes, and spoke with as much strength as I could.  
"Thank you," I managed. He nodded stiffly, not knowing what else to say, and left me to curl up into a ball and slip into Lissa's head.

Through her eyes, I could see the millions of twinkling stars that filled the night sky. It was daytime for Moroi, and Lissa was sitting on one of the Courts benches next to her boyfriend Christian Ozera. He had his arms wrapped comfortingly around her, as they listened intently to what Adrian was saying. It didn't take long to figure out what they were talking about. Me.

"Five days!" Lissa exclaimed, practically jumping out of her seat. "But that's so soon." Christian tugged her by the arm and she slowly sank back down onto the bench. Adrian was lounging on the perfect green grass, while holding a bottle of alcohol. Through the bond I could also smell cigarette smoke radiating off him. Poor Adrian, I knew he wouldn't be coping. Not with all that had happened with his Aunt and … me.

"Well, it's not up to us. They probably just want to get this over and done with as soon as possible so they can get everyone to calm down and go on to elect a new ruler." Adrian said, taking a swig from his bottle.

"But why do they have to do it like… that?" Even Christian couldn't come to say the words.

"They wanted to do it publicly, as they think it will put everyone's mind at ease. And also, the Royal Court loves their old fashioned laws." He sighed and put down his drink. "I just wish they would at least let us see her. I can't bear the thought that the next time I'll see her she'll have a rope wrapped around her…" He abruptly stopped, realising that someone had joined the group. Lissa had realised this to, and smiled politely in greeting.

"Hey, Dimitri," she said. I could feel my heart pound rapidly in my chest. His gorgeous brown hair was in his usual pony tail, and he was wearing he's usual duster. Dimitri nodded in greeting to Lissa and then spoke hurriedly to Adrian.

"Who where you just talking about?"  
Adrian stood up, which was amazing considering how drunk he was. Then again, he's had lots of practice.

"You know exactly who I am talking about," he said sharply. "And don't pretend you care about Rose either. You hurt her and I am not going to let you do it again." Adrian was pissed and looked like he would lunge at Dimitri at any moment. Sensing this to, Christian got up and stood in between them.

"Come on. Fighting isn't going to help Rose now." His maturity shocked me, and I think even him. Lissa walked up to Adrian and placed a hand on his shoulder. Looking him deeply in the eyes, she tried to calm him down. Dimitri stayed silent the whole time and finally, Adrian sighed and grudgingly walked away.  
Christian was the first to break the silence.

"Well, that was a first."

Lissa looked away from where Adrian was retreating and sighed.

" Yeah. I've never seen Adrian act like that before." Christian smiled sheepishly.

"I actually meant that that was the first time I've actually stopped a fight, instead of encouraging one." Lissa couldn't help but smile.

"Looks like you can be taught after all." She walked over to where the boys were standing, feeling a little happier. She turned her attention back to Dimitri.

"What do you want to know about Rose? I can't tell you much, and I'm not even sure if it's true..."

"Just tell me everything," he asked. His eyes looked worried for a second, but I knew I had just been seeing things. He didn't care about me anymore, at least not in the way I wanted him to.

"Well..."

"Excuse me Princess Dragomir, but do you know where I can find Adrian Ivashkov?"  
Thomas was the one to interrupt. He was still in his guardian uniform, which gave Lissa an idea. She hadn't met Thomas before, so she didn't know what kind of guardian he was or what kind of connection he had to me.

"I do. And I can tell you where he is, but do you mind if I ask you a question first?" She let her aura fill with a little bit of compulsion so that he would be more committed to answering. If she had known him though, she would have realised he didn't need any.

"Of course Princess."  
She glimpsed at Dimitri for a split second and then asked, "What do you know about Rose Hathaway?"

"I know quite a lot," he said, smiling knowingly. "And I am guessing you want to know everything I can tell you?" Lissa simply nodded, and out of the corner of her eye I could see Dimitri shift uneasily. I wonder why he was so curious about my welfare. Then again, he probably just wanted to be kept up to date. Thomas kept his face neutral as he spoke.

"Rose is being kept guard in one of the Courts high security cells. I am one of the guardians who have been keeping watch. We knew each other before the incident, so I believe that she is innocent and have been helping her whenever I can.  
"She will be at trial in five days and if she is found guilty, she will be hanged by the neck at sunrise the very next day." He looked at Lissa sympathetically and then turned to where Dimitri still stood. He was looking at the ground now, a million emotions spreading across his face. "I am really sorry, but I have to go fine Mr Ivashkov."  
Lissa thanked him and gave him directions to where Adrian would be. He turned to leave but was stopped when Dimitri finally spoke.

"Thomas." I shouldn't have been surprised that Dimitri knew him. He knew everyone. "How is she?"  
Thomas faced Dimitri and let his eyes fall to the ground.

"Not good," he finally answered. "I haven't known her for long, but she seems really down and depressed compared to her usual fiery and strong attitude. It's like she's already given up."  
Lissa had been busy concentrating on Thomas and when she looked over to see Dimitri's reaction, she realised he was gone.  
Not wanting to see anymore I slipped back into my own head and drifted off to sleep.

**Thank you all for reading :)  
Please R&R.  
****All feed back and criticism are welcome.  
Next chapter will be up shortly.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! This is the next chapter in "My version of the last sacrifice." I hope you all enjoy it and don't find it to boring. There will be some action scenes coming soon though! So until then, you'll just have to bear with me :) **

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**~*~Chapter Two~*~**

As I slept, my dreams turned into a familiar scene. I was back within the Academy's boarders. Well, I was technically out of bounds, but the property was still owned by the school. I knew the area well. Before Lissa and I had ran away, we used to sneak out into vast forest that surrounded the school with the other novices to have parties. The small clearing I was standing in now used to be one of my favourite hangouts. And I knew who had decided to bring me here.

"Adrian?" I looked behind me as he stepped out of the trees' shadow and started towards me. His arms engulfed me and we found ourselves standing like that for a few moments, just happy to see each other.  
But then we had to get to the hard stuff. He pulled back so he could see my face.

"I got the note." I could see his face fill with sadness as all the memories of all that had happened in the last few days flooded him. It made feel so guilty for not being able to be there for him.

"Adrian I am so sorry about everything that's happened. I wish I could do something to help." His hand gently stroked my cheek as he brushed a strand of my hair out of the way.

"It's not your fault little Dhampir," he professed. "Besides, you're the one who needs the help right now."  
I tried to keep my expression neutral.

"I'm fine. And right now, Lissa is the one that needs everyone's help." He stood there in silence, trying to read my face.

"You know, it's okay to put yourself first sometimes." I nodded, trying to advert my eyes from his.

"It is, but not for me. I am Lissa's guardian and on top of that, she is also my best friend." I looked him in the eyes as I muttered, "They come first." It was what us Dhampirs had been taught since the first day of school. But ever since my experiences with seeing ghosts, a lot of people had started telling me that I need to put myself first sometimes. I was getting better at doing this, but when something like this was happening to Lissa, all that mattered was her. If someone had broken in to get those files, then there had to be a reason why. Lissa is the only known Dragomir to be alive, and because of this she is heavily guarded and well taken care of. But, Lissa's sibling probably has no guardians to protect them. And if someone, apart from Tatiana and I, had discovered this and were still trying to keep it a secret, then something bad was going to happen.  
I shared my thoughts with Adrian.

"If someone really is after her sibling, then this could be her only chance," I explained. He still wasn't convinced though. "Please," I whispered into his ear. "Help her." I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close.

"Come on Rose, you know that's not fair," he said, continuing to hold me. I slowly pulled back so I could lean in and rest my lips against his. My eyes trapped his own and I had him exactly where I wanted him.

"Please," I begged. He sighed deeply and I knew I had gotten my way when he finally gave into the temptation. Our lips melted together and even though we were still dreaming, it felt more real than anything in the world at that moment.

We finally broke apart and I felt a sudden sense of sadness as I realised that he would soon have to leave. Even though my feelings for Adrian would never be as strong as they are towards Dimitri, I still loved him and didn't want him go. But I also loved Lissa and right now, she needed my help. And even though I couldn't physically be there, I could send her as much help as possible. I felt jealous that I wasn't going to be able to come along and protect her myself. The thought of someone else looking after her worried me, but she was going to be much safer with the others than with the Queen's 'murderer'. And as much as I hated to admit it, I trusted Christian to take care of her. I knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"What do you want me to do exactly?" Adrian asked.

"Once you've told Lissa, you need to find some way to get out of Court so you can go and track down her sibling." I wasn't sure how they were going to do this exactly, but I knew that they would be able to figure something out together. "And as much as I hate it, I know once Lissa calms down she will want to come along, so please keep her safe. Thomas, the guardian who gave you the note, will help you guys in any way he can." He nodded, trying to take everything I was saying seriously, which I appreciated.

"Where should we start?"

"You will need to get your hands on the same files that were stolen, the one that contains information about Lissa's family. Then I am guessing that you will need to head to Las Vegas. Do you remember that guy at the bar who was saying all the stuff about Lissa's dad?" He thought for a moment and then nodded.

"So you want us to look around until we find someone like that guy and try and get some information out of them." It wasn't a question but I still nodded in answer.

"Alright, I will help her find her half sibling. But, as soon as we are done I am coming back to help you. I promise." All I could do was nod as he pulled me back into a hug. I didn't have the guts to tell him that nothing in the world could help me now.  
I felt his lips search hungrily for mine and as soon as they connected, I felt like I would never be able to let go. But I did.

"I miss you," I said after we had broken apart. Our eyes locked and he smiled reassuringly.

"I know." I felt his warm, soft lips on my forehead and then he was gone.

"Sweet dreams little Dhampir," were the last words I heard.

The next morning I woke up to find a bowl of porridge, a plain roll and a cup of water in my cell. It didn't look very appetising, but I was hungry and according to Thomas, prisoners usually got a lot worse than this. And despite my fears, it didn't taste too bad. Some-one, probably Thomas, had snuck some honey into it which made the taste ten times better. I was half-way through my breakfast when I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and voices arguing in some foreign language. I knew I shouldn't have been hoping, but I couldn't help but think that the person coming down the hallway was Dimitri. And even though I already knew it wasn't his voice, my heart still sank when I saw who it really was...  
Abe appeared around the corner, clearly pissed off about something. He mumbled something incoherent under his breath and walked over to my cell. I jumped up off the floor and walked over to him.

"Hey," I said, trying to keep a pleasant smile on my face. I gestured towards where he had just come from and asked, "What's going on?" He smiled mischievously.

"Nothing's going on. I was just having a friendly chat with one of the guards." I gave him a questioning look.

"That didn't sound very friendly."

"Well," he began, while fixing his emerald green scarf. "Being friendly doesn't get you anywhere. Besides, it was necessary to be able to come see you."  
I could only imagine what strings Abe had pulled in order to get this time to see me, but I am sure it involved some sort of threat. It must have been so easy for him to have gotten this time. I wish he had thought to bring Lissa with him, but then again, I don't want her to have to see me like this.

"So, why did you come to see me exactly?" He looked around to make sure no-one was nearby and then quickly leaned in closer to the bars.

"I know about the note," he whispered.

"How do you know...?"

"Shhhhh!" I didn't realise how loud I was being.

"How did you find out about that?" I asked in a more hushed tone. He raised his eyebrow as if to say, _are you serious?  
_  
"Rose, for one thing I am your father..."

"How does that answer my question?"

"And for another," he said continuing on as if I hadn't spoken, "I know everything."  
I couldn't help but laugh. It is true in a sense that he does know everything, but that's only because of the kind of work he does. I am still not sure what that is exactly, but I am fairly sure it's illegal. But whatever it is he does, he has a lot of contacts which is how he is able to obtain any information he wants. But it is still surprising that he found out. The only people I have told so far are Thomas and...

"Adrian told you, didn't he?" I should have guessed that Adrian was behind this. I mean they were practically best friends during my trials and Abe is my father, which would have made Adrian feel even more obliged to let him in on the situation.

"Yes, but only because he needs my help to get him and the others out of Court. He wasn't planning on telling me the whole story, but I wouldn't let him leave without telling me the rest."  
Somehow, I imagine the scenario went a bit differently than that. But I must admit that Adrian was smart to ask my father for help. If anyone could get them out of the Court undetected, it would be him.

"So are you going to help them?" He thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Yes, I will help them. But only because finding Lissa's sibling, will help save you."  
I could see a glint of determination in his eye. Even though our relationship was still rocky, I knew that he was going to do everything in his power to save my life.

"Thank you."  
We both stood there for a moment, not knowing what else to say and then it hit me.

"Hey, do you mind if I ask you for one more favour?" I try to make it sound unsuspicious, but I know he saw right through me.

"Depends on what it is."  
Damn, now I can't hold him to his word if he refuses.

"I need you to give Adrian the Dragomir's file."  
I look up to see his reaction, but he doesn't seem surprised at all.

"I was wondering when that would come up."  
He reaches inside his flashy, designer suit and brings out a blue folder.

"So if you already knew that I was going to ask, then you must have an answer."  
He grins and puts the folder back into his suit.

"No."

"No?"

"That's what I said."

Even though I knew he was probably going to say that, it still felt like a slap in the face.

"You know that we'll just steal the file anyway," I said, trying to sound and look as serious as I could. If he thought I was bluffing then he would never hand over the folder, which means that Adrian, Lissa, Christian and whoever else is going along with them, would have to waste their time on breaking in to a high security building to steal a folder that my father could just give them.

"Yes, I know you would. Which is why I will give you the information from the file that you need. And only the information you need, you can't have the whole file."  
I quickly bite my tongue, to stop myself from saying the unpleasant things I was about to say before I had learnt that Abe was going to compromise.

"Alright, that's fair enough. But how will you know which information we'll need?"  
He grinned and tapped his head.

"Because, I know everything Rose." His brow furrowed as his green eyes scanned his watch.

"Listen, I've got it all worked out and I will pass the information onto Adrian tonight when I get them out of Court."

"Tonight?"

"Yes, we have to hurry if we want to get this all figured out before your trial."  
My heart sank. For a moment I had actually forgotten all about that.

"I have to go now, and just so you know I won't be back until the trial."  
The tone of his voice made me curious, but when I asked why, all he would say is, _"I've got some digging to do."  
_  
"Have fun digging then," I say. "And thank you, Zmey."  
He nodded and started walking back the way he'd came.

"Stay strong." I hear him say as he disappears around the corner.

It's around lunch time when I feel Lissa's emotions rise. She is upset. Really upset. So I quickly slip into her through our bond and find myself looking down on a crumpled piece of paper resting in her hands. I recognise it immediately. It's Tatiana's note. I feel Lissa shaking her head, trying to deny the horrible truth that was right in front of her. I can see Adrian standing by the window, looking a lot better than he was yesterday. I just hope he stays that way. Strangely, Christian wasn't anywhere in sight.

"No. This can't be right. Tatiana's wrong. My father was a good man." She was trying so hard to find proof to her father's innocence, but she knew that there had been many opportunities for him to have had affairs. Like when he went away on long business trips."No, it's not true," was all she could say in his defence.  
Adrian isn't the type of guy who is use to dealing with emotional scenarios, but he was trying his best.

"Look, cousin. I know this must be hard to deal with right now, especially with everything else that's been happening. But if we can find your half sibling, that means you can be on the council and have your say, which means..."

"I can save Rose." Her mood began to lighten just at the thought of saving me. Part of her was still hurting, but now she could see the positive side of the bad news.

"Exactly," Adrian said, smiling smugly. He knew that I wouldn't definitely be saved by having Lissa on the council, but it would give me a much better chance.  
Both heads turned at the sound of the door opening. Christian walked in carrying two brown paper bags and cups of coffee. The smell drifted through the bond and almost made me drool.

"What's going on in here?"  
I knew what Christian would be seeing. Lissa's eyes bright with excitement and anticipation, with her cheeks still wet from crying, and Adrian standing across the room sharing the same expression– minus the tears. He placed the food and drinks on the table and walked across the room to Lissa. She handed him the note and watched his expression turn from confusion to disbelief.

"Oh, Liss, I'm so sorry..." he began to say, but she cut in.

"It's OK Christian. I mean, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, but if it is true that means we can help Rose." She beamed with happiness as she said the words.

"How would that help... oh wait, I see."  
He sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you sure you're ready for a leadership role yet?" She leaned her head against his chest and began listening to the beats of his heart.

"Well, I'm use to all the attention and pressure already, and I would like to have more freedom to be able to say my opinion. And most of all, I want to do this for Rose. She's always helping me whenever I need her. I owe her so much, this is the least I can do for her."  
Being Christian, he always has too make sure her safety comes first. Even if it means not being able to save me. It's one of the only things I like about the guy.

"But you've already helped her. You helped free Victor, even after all he's done to you, and you turned Dimitri back into a Dhampir for her."  
She laughed sarcastically.

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out. He refuses to go anywhere near her."  
They both seemed to remember that Adrian was still in the room and abruptly stopped. Lissa looked over at Adrian, but his face was expressionless. It looked like he hadn't heard them. She turned back to Christian, face strong so he couldn't question her.

"I'm going."  
She looked him in the eyes, enforcing her words. It reminded me of how in the human world, they would always look their pet dogs in the eyes when they gave them a command to follow. It didn't take long to sway Christian and he eventually agreed, saying that he was coming as well.

"So, are we done arguing?" Both Lissa and Christian jumped at the sound of Adrian's voice. They had once again forgotten that he was still in the room.

"Yes, and we're both coming," Lissa states while getting to her feet, pulling Christian along with her.

"Yeah, Rose and I kind of figured you would both want to come."

"And let me guess, she told you to stop me by any means necessary."  
I could feel Lissa roll her eyes at how predictable I am.

"Well, no not exactly. She said that she really didn't want you to go, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop you, so she just said to keep you safe."  
Lissa was jealous that Adrian was able to visit me through dream walking, but she was also glad to know that there was a way to communicate with me.

"Did she say anything else?" She was desperate for any news from me.

"She didn't say anything else, but I could tell that she misses you."  
Lissa smiled warmly and had to suddenly concentrate on trying to keep her tears back.  
Seeing Lissa choking up, Christian quickly changes the subject.

"So when are we leaving?"  
He looks towards Adrian, waiting for an answer.

"Pack your bags kiddies," Adrian says. "We leave tonight."

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**Thank you all for reading and please remember to R&R :)  
Next chapter will be up soon! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Here's the third chapter in "my version of the last sacrifice." I hope you all enjoy it and there will definitely be some action in the next chapter for those who have been waiting for it! :)**

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**Chapter three**

IT HADN'T TAKEN LONG FOR the three of them to pack their bags, which left them plenty of time to go and find Mia, Eddie and Thomas. Christian went off to go find Mia, while Adrian went to go find Thomas, which left Lissa to go find Eddie. Through the bond I could tell that Lissa was a bit uneasy about this. She knew that Eddie and I hadn't been getting on ever since I purposely stopped him from staking Dimitri when he was a Stirgoi. But she hoped that after all that had happened he would be willing to help me one more time. But that's just the way she saw it. I was hoping that Eddie would see it more as a way to help Lissa rather than myself, because I doubt that he would be willing to help me again.

Lissa walked swiftly through the lobby towards Eddie's room. It doesn't take long for her to reach his door and a second later she's knocking on it.  
A blurry eyed Eddie opened the door, but despite his tiredness, he immediately brightens up when he sees her.

"Hey Lissa, what's up?" He steps out of the way and ushers her though the door.

"Um... nothing much. I was just wondering if I could talk to you if you're not too busy?" He points over to the couch and they both head over and sit down.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Lissa starts twiddling her thumbs as she tries to think about how she should begin. It's frustrating for me to be sitting in this cell, watching events like this play out without being able to say or do anything about them. I just hope Liss doesn't try and start off with the conversation with me.

"Well," she begins. "It's about Rose." Next to her Eddie tenses.  
Fantastic. Now there's no possible way he will help her.

"What about her?" Eddie manages after a few silent moments. Lissa slowly looks up from her hands and faces him.

"I've found a way to help her, and possibly save her life." Eddie stays silent, his mind wandering off into his own world- or possibly dark thoughts about what a horrible person I am- but  
I'm hoping for the first one. "Look," she begins. "I know you and Rose..." But Eddie cuts her off.

"I'll help."

"What?"

Yeah, what? I was as stunned as Lissa. Did he actually just say what we think he said?

"I'll help. I'll do whatever I can to save her," he stands up and begins pacing around the room. "I feel so bad about not patching things up properly with Rose before... well you know." Even Eddie, fearless and brave Eddie had trouble talking about my jail sentence. "And I promised myself that I would look out for her ever since Mason died." The mention of one of my former close friends, Mason, caused my heart to ache. But I knew that he had found peace in the end, which made the pain a little easier to bear. "I've already broken that promise once. I don't want to do it again." Lissa was still stunned, but eventually her brain caught up to what was happening and she cracked a smile.

"Oh Eddie!" Catching him off guard, she leaped up and gave him hug. He chuckled and asked, "So, what do you want me to do exactly?" Lissa smiled brightly and began tugging him towards the door like a little kid who really wants an ice-cream.

"I'll tell you, but first we have to go meet up with the others. Come on."

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Once they had all arrived back at Lissa room, they quickly started working out what everyone had to do and the best way to do everything. Abe had told Adrian to meet him with the others in the garage that holds all the Guardian's vehicles at 7am. The rest, my father apparently had covered. They had decided that Mia would stay at Court to keep an eye out for me and so that they would also have someone on the inside they could all trust. She wasn't too happy about it, but promised that she would do the job. Eddie and Thomas would come along to protect Adrian, Lissa and Christian, who would be busy trying to find out who Lissa's half sibling is and where to find them.

With all that work out they gathered all their bags and started to head off to the garage under the cover of darkness- well technically daylight, but it was just as effective as there would be no Moroi around because they would all be asleep. They only people they had to worry about were the guardians on duty. But, thankfully, they were able to easily doge them and make it to the Garage on time. When they walked in, they found Abe standing there waiting in front of large black van. He was holding a big-bulgy-looking bag and the blue folder that he had said contained the main information about Lissa's family.

"What's in the bag?" Christian asked curiously. Abe in turn tossed him the bag and said, "Your disguises." Lissa unzipped the bag and pulled out a guardian's uniform.  
Adrian laughed.

"You're dressing us up as guardians? Don't you think they might notice that were not, well, guardians?" A glare from Abe quickly shut Adrian up and then he started handing out the clothes.

"It wouldn't work if we were in a small, secluded place where everyone knows everyone, but we're not. We're at the Royal Court. There are too many guardians for them all to know each other and they are more concerned about people entering than leaving. So as long as you disguise your selves properly and hide your eyes with these," he said holding up three pairs of black sunglasses. "Then you'll go unnoticed. I've arrange for a fake job which involves five guardians leaving Court to go and educate a class of Dhampirs on the life of a guardian at the Royal Court."

Somehow I don't think he 'arranged' a fake job. Persuaded forcefully would be more fitted in Abe's case. "So all you need to do is buckle up and let Thomas do the talking since he'll be the only familiar face." The group all started to load their luggage into the van and then take turns in the small storage closet to get changed into their guardian clothes. Lissa, Christian and Adrian then put on the black sunglasses and then climbed into the car. Abe walked up to the still-opened-van-door and handed Adrian the blue folder.

"Here is all the information you need. So please don't go breaking into try and find the Dragomir's file." Adrian nodded in thanks, and Abe turned towards Lissa. "Good luck. I hope for everyone's sake that you find your half sibling." Lissa smiled politely.

"I hope so too. And thank you for the help." Thomas starts the engine as he and Eddie hop into the van. Abe wished them all luck one more time and then walked away. There was an anxious feeling in the air as the van steadily made its way to the front gate. But Abe had been right and they made it through with little complications. It would be a couple of hours until they reached the airport, and it looked like nothing else interesting would happen. So I slipped back into myself and opened my eyes to what must be a dream. Because standing in front of my cell was the last person I had expected to see. Dimitri.

"Hey," he said after he realised I was back to reality. I stood up from where I had been sitting on the floor and walked over to him.

"Hi." We both shifted uneasily, but I refused to break the silence. I was too stubborn to even wonder how he had gotten in here, and on top of that had gotten time alone with me as well.

"How are you?"  
Was he seriously asking me this? Why couldn't he just get to the point already? But if I was honest, some part of me didn't want him to get to the point. If I was honest with myself, I didn't want him to stop talking and leave at all.

"Fine," I answered bluntly.

"Look Rose, I'm sorry about everything. But I just wanted to come and make sure you're okay." His warm brown eyes burned into mine and it took all my strength too look away from them and focus on a crack in the wall.

"I'm fine. You didn't need to come here just because you feel sorry for me. I can look after myself."  
He chuckled.

"Oh, I know you can."  
I was still looking at the crack in the wall when I felt his strong, soft hand turn my face towards his. "But that's not why I'm here."  
My heart started pounding a million miles an hour and my brain started questioning everything I had forced myself to believe was wrong. _Maybe he does love me? Maybe_ _he was just lying? Or maybe I'm just dreaming._ Deciding to test this theory, I quickly pinch my arm.

"Ouch."

"Why did you just pinch yourself?" He was looking at me confused, and frankly and little worried for my sanity as well. I just shrugged.

"Just testing to make sure I am not dreaming." He laughed again.

"You always have to be so stubborn don't you? But I guess I deserve it this time." His smile disappeared as he creased his eyebrows in anger. "I really am sorry for all that I've put you through, Rose." I was trying so hard not to cave in, but his eyes and words were making it seem like an impossible task. And finally I couldn't help but show a hint of a smile.

"You know that I've already forgiven you like a thousand times before. Besides, you've had to put up with all my crap, so it looks like we're even." The frown on Dimitri's face turned back into a warm, radiant smile and I couldn't but return it. "So if it wasn't for pity then why did you come?" I tried not to sound hopeful, but that's exactly how it sounded. But my affection towards Dimitri didn't seem to bother him anymore. It was like he was back to his old self again. He started to lean in closer, while still managing to caress my cheek through the bars. His lips stopped right near my ear and he whispered, "Because, I love you."

I had been waiting so long to hear those words that it took me a while to react to them. But as soon as I realised I wasn't dreaming, I quickly turned my face so our lips could find each other. The kiss was hot and deep, the kind of kisses that I had longed for from Dimitri.

But it didn't last long. Because the next thing I knew I was being ripped out of Dimitri's hands and being sent flying across the room, with the sound of an explosion ringing through my ears.

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**Thank you all for reading and please remember to R&R and let me know what you think!  
Next chapter up soon :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Here's the fourth chapter in the story. Sorry that's it's kind of short, but I hope you all enjoy it and please let me know what you all think about the story so far :)**

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**Chapter four**

THE SCREAMS OF THE ROYAL Court was all I could hear as I layed spread out on the hard, cold floor. My head throbbed from the impact of the explosion and all I could see around me was dust as well as the vast mountains of rubble. It took a while until my brain became aware of the situation and even longer until I could do anything about it.  
_Dimitri. I must get to Dimitri, _Were my only thoughts.

I slowly began to crawl my way across the ground, heading in the direction I knew he would be. My mind was whirling; busy trying to understand what had just happened. I wasn't an expert in using explosives, but that sure felt like an explosion to me. But how is that even possible. The Court is swarming with Guardians and to plant a bomb right under their noses seemed like an impossible task. But someone had managed to do it, which only meant one thing. Stirgoi were at the Royal Court. The frightened screams I could hear from all around me, and the nauseating feeling in my stomach confirmed my suspicion. And if I really was right- which I knew I was- then I had to get to Dimitri, and fast.

It felt like I had been stumbling around for hours when I finally found him. He was laying flat on his back, with a look of horror and shock still on his face. I immediately rushed as fast as I could to his side and kneeled down beside him. I quickly checked his pulse and sighed with relief. He was unconscious, but still alive. I then checked to see if he had obtained any serious injuries and was pleased to find nothing accept a few bruises and cuts. Over all we had been very lucky.  
I stayed there for a few moments, thinking about what my next move should be. There was no way I would be able to carry him, and it would hurt him if I dragged him across the ragged floor. But I needed to get him out of this place before any Stirgoi come along, hungry for a snack.

I was just contemplating whether I should use I sheet of plastic to pull him in when I heard the sound of feet hitting the ground in a sprint. Thinking impulsively, I pull out Dimitri's stake and got into a protective stance in front of him. I would never let any Stirgoi touch him ever again.

By the sound of their movements, I could tell there was at least three. And I was spot on, because a few seconds later, three Stirgoi came into view and surround us immediately. One of them was a tall, powdery looking woman who I knew would have to be at least a hundred years old. She had long, slick black hair that ended at her waist and pale blue eyes, which would be stunning if it wasn't for the red ring around them. The other two were boys. They didn't look as old as the woman, but I could tell they weren't new either. They were somewhere in the middle. They both had light brown hair and looked like they were ready to sink their fangs into my neck at any second.

"Is this the girl Carly?" One of the boys asked. Carly glared at me and then nodded.

"She fits the description." Wait, what description? What were they talking about?

"Alright, then let's grab her then go." I tensed. There was no way in hell I was going anywhere with them.

"You know it's not as simple as that, Cam." Carly hissed. She then turned towards me, with a twisted smile on her face. "You're Rosemarie Hathaway aren't you?" I ignored her question, to busy preparing to strike her in the heart. She noticed this to. "I wouldn't do that if I were you Rose. Otherwise, Cam and Luke here might have to have a taste from your yummy looking boyfriend over there," she threatened, while gesturing towards where Dimitri layed behind me. "And don't think you can fight your way through us either. I mean, I've heard you're good, but you're not _that_ good." The way she was saying sounded like she was challenging me and I couldn't help but let instinct kick in. I lunged for her, stake ready to strike her in the heart as soon as I had a clear shot.

We struggled for a while, neither of us being able to get the upper hand on the other. I needed to distract her, so I quickly swiped my stake down her arm and listened to her scream. She only got sidetracked for a moment but that's all I needed. I was about to drive my stake into her chest when I noticed the other two Stirgoi advancing on Dimitri's unconscious body.

Without hesitation, I quickly push Carly to the ground and start defending Dimitri. It doesn't take me long to stake Luke, which leaves me with only Carly and Cam to deal with. They were both good fighters, but I was just as good, which made it hard to try and over power them. Especially since I was fighting them both at the same time.  
I right hook Cam in the nose and get the pleasure of seeing him wince in pain. But I don't let this distract me. I stay focus and manage to land a kick into Carly's stomach, but this hardly affects her. She is much stronger than the other two boys, making it much harder for me to kill her.

The fight had been going on for at least ten minutes when I finally found an opening. The result ended in Cam falling to the ground dead. I turned towards Carly, ready to continue our fight, but she had started to retreat back, smiling as she went.

"Like I said before, you're good. But you're not _that _good." I suddenly realised what she meant when I noticed the silhouettes of the oncoming Stirgoi. Crap.  
There were now nine Stirgois in total and they had us surrounded.

Looking around, I sighed with defeat and asked, "What do you want?"

The twisted smile Carly had been wearing before finally returned and she said, "I want you to calmly come with us. You are not to try to escape, scream or talk in any way. And if you don't behave..." She looked towards Dimitri and licked her lips, knowing that I would get the message. I shuddered at the thought of her cold, powdery lips on his smooth, gorgeous neck and knew exactly what I had to do.

"Fine. But you have to leave him alone." She started to walk towards me, with a pair of metal handcuffs in her hand.

"Fine," she said bluntly, while locking my handcuffs into place. "Well I must admit. That was much easier than I thought it would be. Even _he _expected you to be more of a challenge. But I guess we were both wrong." She ordered two of the Stirgoi to make sure I wouldn't make a break for it and then started heading off into the distance, with her small army not far behind her.

As we started to move, I took one last quick glance towards Dimitri and silently prayed that he would be okay. He needed to be okay.

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**Why do the Stirgoi want Rose? And who was Carly talking about when she said, "Even _he _expected you to be more of a challenge_" _?  
Keep reading to find out and please remember to R&R.  
Next chapter up soon! :) **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter in the story. I hope you all enjoy it and please, please, please let me know what you're thinking about the story so far because it would be a major big help to me for my personal project! :)**

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Chapter Five

It didn't take me long to realise why the Stirgoi had bribed me into walking calmly through the Court. The way they went about it made me look like I was escaping with them, which made me look guiltier than I actually was.

It wasn't easy to walk through the Chaos the Stirgoi had caused to the Royal Court. Houses were ablaze and everyone was running around frantic, and screaming out for their loved ones. Others were kneeling besides those who had been lost, and the guardians were busy trying to fight their way through the mass crowd of Stirgoi that were attacking all the innocent people.

Even though the sight before me made me sick, I couldn't help but feel relieved that Lissa and the others had gotten out before the attack. I knew they were safe and that was good enough for now. The main two people I was concerned about at the moment were Dimitri and Mia. Dimitri was unconscious and hurt, lying somewhere in the vast amounts of rubble. And I wasn't able to help him, because if I tried to escape, they would just go back there and kill him. Or worse, turn him Stirgoi again. And I refused to let that happen, even if that meant sacrificing my own life in the process.

On the other hand, as for Mia's whereabouts, I had no idea. The Royal Court was massive in size, so I couldn't even guess where she might be. I could only hope she would be alright and that the combat skills she had been practicing would pay off.  
As we headed for the front gates, most people screamed and ran away as fast as they could when they saw us. But a few people-very stupid people- stopped and stared in astonishment when they saw me among them.

We headed out the unhinged front gate and I was roughly shoved into the back of a van. The two Stirgoi that had been keeping an eye on me sat on either side and quickly blindfolded me into darkness.

I couldn't help but shudder at the closeness of the Stirgoi. I could feel their cold, hard skin through my clothes, and I swear one of them even smelt my neck as if he were trying to figure out which vain was best to tap. He obviously didn't realise that he would be in for one hell of a shock though if he tried to bite me.

I wasn't able to stand another minute in this car, so I slipped into Lissa's head and then suddenly wished I hadn't. Christian and Lissa were making out on their motel bed and I knew it was going to get even hotter between them at any second. Not wanting to witness this act of love, I was just about to return to myself when there was a knock at the door. Thank gosh.  
Christian and Lissa quickly broke apart and gave permission for the visitor to come in. Adrian rushed through the door; his face white with worry and something else. Anger maybe.

"Adrian, what's wrong," Lissa asked. Adrian was pacing franticly around the room, as if he wasn't sure what he should do.

"I just got a call from Mia. And we have a big problem." His tone was serious, which made Lissa jump to one conclusion.

"What is it? Has it got something to do with Rose?" By the look on his face, she knew she was right.

"What's happened," Christian asked, joining in on the conversation. Adrian sat down on the motel's small couch and sighed. I knew what was about to come and I didn't want to see Lissa's reaction when she found out what had happened back at Court. The only good thing to come out of this conversation so far was that I knew that Mia was alright. I just hoped Dimitri was to.

"There's been a massive Stirgoi attack at Court." Christian and Lissa both froze. They hadn't expected Adrian to say anything like that, but they knew he was telling the truth.

"Is Rose okay? What happened to her?" Lissa was almost shouting she was so upset. Christian wrapped his arms around her and tried to sooth her, but it wasn't working. "Adrian, just tell me what's happened to Rose!" Adrian looked up from the floor and choked out, "She's been taken."

Both Lissa and Christian gasp. That was another thing they hadn't seen coming.

"No..."

At that moment Eddie and Thomas walked into the room and immediately stop in their tracks.

"What's going on?" They both asked in unison.

As Christian was the only one capable of speech, he quickly filled them in on the situation.

"Has anyone gone after her?" Thomas asked after Christian had finished.

"No. Mia said that everyone thinks she's working with the Stirgoi." Adrian explained.

Christian almost laughed.

"Are they serious? Why would they think that?"

"She was seen walking through the court calmly with the Stirgoi. Mia even said she saw the same thing before she got knocked out."  
Lissa had silent tears streaming down her face now.

"But Rose would never do that," she said, defending me. Eddie nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, she wouldn't work with Stirgoi even if her life depended on it."

"Then maybe it wasn't her life that depended on it." This time it was Thomas who spoke. Everyone looked at him confused.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Everyone she most cares about is right here in this room," Eddie pointed out. He didn't know about the relationship between Dimitri and I, but something told me he was about to find out.

"No they're not. Belikov was still at Court when we left," Adrian admits. I can see through Lissa's eyes how much it pained him to say this. But he knew he was right and so did everyone else- well everyone apart from Eddie- but he knew that this wasn't that time to ask, so he kept quiet.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Lissa agreed. "And now that we know, we have to go find her."  
Adrian shook his head.

"No. We have to find out where she is first. I'll try and speak to her in her dreams and find out, but until then we have to continue on with our mission. I promised Rose."  
Lissa tried to argue and convince the others to help her, but everyone was already in agreement with Adrian. So, eventually she reluctantly agreed.

"Fine, but as soon as you find out where she is we are going to rescue her."  
The drama soon died down, though the worry and tension was still thick in the air as everyone left to go back to their own rooms. Christian and Lissa silently hopped back into bed, where she cried herself to sleep as Christian held her tight.

I tried to stay awake, but I couldn't help it and soon drifted off to sleep as well. My dreams began to change and I knew Adrian wasn't far away. I found myself standing on the porch at the ski lodge. I realised it was the place where we first met. And like before, Adrian was leaning against the wall having a smoke.

"Hey, I thought you'd promised to quit smoking," I teased.

"We're dreaming so it doesn't count," he said, but still puts it out anyway. He walked over and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Are you okay?" He asked when we had broken apart. "Where are you?"

"I'm fine, but I'm stuck in a van with a bunch of Stirgoi. They've blindfolded me so I have no idea where I'm going." He watched me the entire time I was explaining, and when I had finished he frowned

"Why did you go with them without a fight?" I knew he already knew the answer, but I also knew he just wanted to hear me say it.

"I'm sorry Adrian, it happened all so fast. They said if I didn't come with them that they would kill..."

"Dimitri," he finished, cutting me off. "You still love him don't you?"

I stayed silent. How could I possible break his heart at a time like this? He looked me deeply in the eyes, trying to read my thoughts. "Please Rose, just tell me the truth. No more lies." He was right and he deserved to know the truth, no matter how much it hurt him.

"Yes, I still love him," I choked out. I watched his expression as his brain processed my words.

"Thought so," he finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"Adrian, I'm so sorry..." I began, but he cut me off again.

"It's okay Rose. I always knew this day would come, even if I secretly hoped it wouldn't." I couldn't stand hurting Adrian like this. I really hoped that he would be able to move on. "But it's better than lying to each other, especially when we both knew that you still loved Belikov." Not being able to listen to the pain in his voice anymore, I pulled him into a hug. He sighed and hugged me back. "I know you don't feel the same way, but I am still going to do everything in my power to help you." Okay, this was way too much too bear. How could I be such a horrible person?

"No, Adrian you don't have to do anything for me. I've hurt you too much already." He shook his head and leaned back to look at me.

"It doesn't matter. I don't want to see you die and neither does Lissa or anyone else. So please, tell me what you want me to do." I sighed and let my head rest against his chest.

"Well, there's no point in trying to find me because I have no idea where they're taking me, so just keep trying to find Lissa's sibling. And please don't tell Liss that you've spoken to me otherwise she'll want to come and rescue me." By the look on his face, he didn't like that plan very much.

"What about you?" He asked. I smiled and playfully punched him in the arm.

"Hey, I'm tough. I can look after myself. And I promise that I will do everything possible to try and escape, or to at least find out where I am." He didn't buy it, but he knew that he couldn't do anything but try to keep positive.

"Yeah, I know you're tough little Dhampir." He leant down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "I just needed to do that one more time," he whispered. The dream started to fade into nothingness so I gave him once last quick hug.  
We both wished each other good luck, and then his gone.

I opened my eyes to the darkness of the blindfold, and knew I was back to reality. I could tell by the soreness of my body that I was still in the van. A few minutes later, it starts to slow down and then suddenly comes to a complete stop.

I hear the doors of the van begin to open and close, and that's when I realise that we've reached our destination.

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**Thank you all for reading and please remember to R&R!  
Next chapter should be up in the next few days depending on how much homework I have :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, I've had a lot of other stuff going on, but I assure you that I will be updating the rest of my chapters much quicker. The whole story should be finished within the next 3 weeks! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy chapter six and I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all those who have reviewed this story so far! :)**

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**~*~Chapter Six~*~**

THE STIRGOI'S HIDE OUT MUST have been huge, because it took at least ten minutes of walking before I was shoved into a room and tied down into a chair with metal bindings. Someone ripped off my blind fold and my eyes shied away from the brightness of the room. It wasn't caused by sunlight though; it was because the room was pure white. The walls and roof were white, and even the floor had been covered with cold, white tiles. There were no windows or vents. The only way in and out of the room was by the heavily guarded door. So I was pretty much screwed in other words.

As I was processing how the hell I was going to escape, Carly walked in the door and ordered the other Stirgoi to wait outside. She stood there for a while, just watching me and waiting for something to happen.

It didn't look like she was going to break the silence so I finally asked, "Why am I here?"  
She thought for a moment and then spoke. "I could tell you, but how would that be any fun?" The amusing glint in her eye was starting to really piss me off.

"Well if it's because you think I am going to tell you where Lissa is, you're dead wrong."  
Carly chuckled, which just made me want to slap her even more.

"Nope. We already have someone taking care of that."  
I wanted to believe she was just bluffing, but my instinct told me she was being serious.

"Oh really?" I asked in a mocking tone. "Where is she then?"  
I tried to read her face, to see if I could tell if she was telling the truth, but all she did was continue to smirk.

"No, I don't think I'll tell you where we _know_ she is. See, if I tell you where the Princess is you'll know for sure if what I am saying is true. But if I don't then you're left guessing, and it's so much more fun to watch you squirm."

I watched in silence as the crazy woman headed for the door.

"So if you're not going to tell me anything, then what's the point in me being here?"

She had opened the door a little, a small smile playing on her lips as she thought for a moment.

"You want to know the reason you're here?" I stayed silent. She stopped for a minute, never letting her hands leave the door. "Fine," she said, while swinging open the door. "This is the reason you're here… or should I say _he_…"

I gasped. Standing in front of me was a man I knew. A man with a head of astonishing silver hair, which was accompanied with a fancy mustache and a set of dark green eyes. It was Nathan Ivashkov.

"Rose, it's so nice to see you again. Are you comfortable?" Carly silently walked out of the room, sending one last glance of amusement my way. I quickly turned my attention back to the traitor in front of me and found him staring off into the distance.

"How could you do this? I knew you were a jerk, but this is going a little far even for you."  
He snapped back into reality and glared daggers at me.

"That's rich coming from the Queen's assassinator."

"Oh, come on! You know I didn't kill Tatiana!" I exclaimed. But he just simply shrugged.

"Even so, we still need someone to take the blame otherwise the plan won't work. And who better than Rose Hathaway, the rebellious young Guardian who took pleasure in making hot shots and threats towards the Queen herself." I gritted my teeth, trying to control my temper.

"What plan? Why do you need me?" I watched him as his eyes glazed over for a moment, but then they quickly returned to normal. _What was that?  
_  
"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. Why the plan is for me to become the new King and change the way Tatiana use to rule this world. We can become immortal and join the Stirgois; it is the only way to resolve peace." The way he spoke, it reminded me of someone else, but I couldn't put my finger on it exactly.

"You've lost it. No one will ever go along with this; you'll be locked away before you can even try. Stirgoi are pure evil, they have no feelings. Why do you want to condemn the rest of us to that fate?"

He slowly made his way over to me and kneeled down.

"You don't understand at the moment, but it truly is for the best."

His face was in such close proximity that I was able to notice his eyes glazing over and returning back to normal every few seconds. Something wasn't right with him. He didn't fail to notice my observations and quickly stood up.

"And as for you... well we needed you out of the picture." I froze. I had guessed as much when they had first captured me, but I began to relax as I figured that if it was true they would have killed me by now. Guess I was wrong.

"Then why don't you get it over and done with already? If you don't, the Guardians will force their way into this place and take me back to prison. They don't often let assassinators get away that easily. Especially when they've been accused of murdering the Queen."

Adrian's Father just stood there looking amused at my torn expression. I knew I sounded weak, but I was just trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

"That's what I'm counting on," he muttered.

Then it all clicked. The Stirgoi hadn't taken me back here to torture me for information, kill me off themselves or even keep me prisoner. They just wanted me to look bad, to seem like I was working with the them. That's why they wanted me to walk peacefully through the Royal Court's grounds; it made me look ten times more guilty than what everyone had already assumed of me. And with all those witnesses, I'll be sentenced to death for certain now, which leaves Lord Ivashkov free to continue his plan without arousing suspicion.

"You bastard!" I yelled, trying to rip my arms out of my bindings. "You son-of-a..." I couldn't continue you. I struggled and tried to breathe, but I couldn't. I was suffocating. My head pounded from the lack of oxygen, and my lungs felt like they were on fire. Dark spots started to fill my vision, and I was just about to pass out when my breath returned. I gulped in the air ferociously, too busy to notice the smile on Nathan Ivashkov's face. Panting I let myself sink into the chair, too exhausted to even glare at him.  
_  
He must have specialised in air... great.  
_  
"Tired are we?" He grabbed my hair tightly and pulled my head up. I was so drained, I didn't even realise the pain until he slapped me. I ignored the stinging feeling and replied through gritted teeth, "Just catching my breath."

He scowled at my remark.

"If you ever insult me again you'll have no breath left to catch."

The hold on my hair was released as he walked over and knocked on the door, ordering one of the Stirgoi to come inside. A young male with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes walked in the door. Nathan Ivashkov spoke so quickly and silently to him that I wasn't able to catch any of the conversation. When they finished, the young looking Stirgoi turned his attention towards me, eyes intent and smiling with pleasure.

I knew that look. It was the same look Dimitri sometimes had when he was a Stirgoi. I pulled at my bindings, trying to get free as the Stirgoi stalked towards me.

"Don't struggle Rose, it will only hurt more. Besides, I thought a blood whore like you would enjoy a little bite."

"Don't you dare call me that," I snapped.

"Well, just try and enjoy it anyway. We need you sedated so you're easier to deal with. Just relax." The guy leaned down and started closing the gap between my neck and his teeth. Trying to fight the urge to just let myself feel the blissfulness of the bite that I had felt before, I smacked my head into his, knocking him of course and causing him to stumble slightly. But I was going to have to do a lot better than that to stop him. He pinned my head in his hands and brought his lips down onto my neck. I sighed as I felt the piercing pain, which soon turned into a source of relief and pleasure.

I closed my eyes, trying to fight the subconscious battle that was happening in my brain. _What are you doing? Fight back?_  
I couldn't though; the bite had sent endorphins into my bloodstream, causing confusion and exhaustion throughout my entire body and mind. It wasn't long until I lost the battle completely and drifted off into darkness.

I didn't know how long I had been out of it, but as soon as I was aware that I was no longer subdued to the effect of the endorphins I slipped into Lissa's head, not wanting to inform my captors to the fact I was awake.

Lissa and the others were all in the van, heading towards their new destination. A quick search through Lissa's thoughts told me they were heading towards Detroit. It was a huge City, surrounded by skyscrapers and lots of highways. For some reason it reminded me of something, but as soon as the thought had come I let it go, there was too many other important things to worry about. Thomas was driving, Adrian was in the front next to him, and Eddie and Christian were in the back with Lissa. Adrian was busy talking on the phone to someone, his face serious as he scribbled down some instructions the person on the other end was giving him.

"Yep, I got it. Thanks Abe." It didn't surprise me that my father had been on the other end of that phone call. Adrian put his phone back in his pocket, gave Thomas the new directions and turned around in his seat to face the others.

"Did you get the address?" Lissa asked curiously.  
Adrian nodded.

"Yeah, I got it and it's not too far away from here." Lissa's heart began to pound. It wouldn't be too much longer until she would meet her half-sibling for the first time. Christian squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"You'll be alright, and I'll be right here with you the entire time." She smiled up at him and gave him a tender kiss on the lips.

"Thank you."

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "Anytime."

Adrian gave a _subtle _cough that brought back Christian and Lissa's attention.

"Abe was also able to find out the last name of your siblings family. Do you want to hear it?" Lissa thought for a moment and then nodded. "He said it was Mastrano."

"Mastrano?" Christian repeated. "That sounds familiar..."

It sounded vaguely familiar to me too, but it was probably just a coincidence. Lissa couldn't possibly have a half-sibling that we had already met before.  
Adrian turned around in his seat and gazed out the window.

"Yeah, that name does sound... WOW! WATCH OUT!" Thomas managed to swerve the van out of the way just in time as a black car came speeding past, completely heading in the wrong direction and on the wrong side of the road to. That car hadn't lost control by accident and I wasn't the only one to have noticed this.

"DRIVE!" Eddie yelled from the back seat. Thomas hit the accelerator and began speeding off down the highway. Lissa was able to see from the rear-view mirrors that the car was gaining on them and fast.

"Quick, take that exit!" Christian ordered. Thomas managed to steer the van into the proper lane just in time, but so did the black car.

"Who's after us!" Lissa asked anxiously.

"Stirgoi," Thomas growled through his gritted teeth. I silently swore to myself, Carly had been telling the truth after all.

"Take a right," Adrian said as he read his map. "Then go left and continue straight. At the end of the alleyway take a sharp left and don't hit anything, it's going to be a tight fit." Thomas nodded as they entered the first alley way, with the Stirgoi hot on their tail. He rounded the first corner as bullets started to be fired.

"GET DOWN!" Eddie ordered as he grabbed Lissa and Christian and forced them down onto the van's floor. The back window smashed into a million pieces as a bullet came flying though, also managing to break a section of the front window as it went. Adrian managed to duck just in time as another bullet passed over his head. My heart was racing a million miles an hour. I couldn't do anything but watch as my friends tried to evade getting killed.

"Alright, that does it." Christian reached behind the seat and pulled out a bottle of petrol. I couldn't help but smile. _Pyromaniac.  
_He opened the window and began to take the lid off.

"What are you doing Christian? Get down!" Lissa hissed.

"I'm saving our lives," he answered as he started to pour petrol onto the road.

"Where about to round the corner, hold on tight!" Thomas warned. Christian quickly chucked what was left of the bottle of petrol out of the window and set it alight. There was the sound of an explosion as the van rounded the sharp corner. The luminous light of the fire could be seen as they made their getaway.

"I think we've lost them," Eddie said after a few moments of driving.

"Well, that's not unexpected, Christians fire would have at least caused damage to their tires," Lissa said appraisingly as she wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you."  
He kissed her forehead and said, "Like I said, anytime."

"Since we've lost them, how about we get a quick bite to eat?" Thomas suggested. "We're still a few hours away from Lissa's sibling's house and I'm starving." They all agreed and Eddie suggested a small restaurant he'd been to before that wasn't too far away.

A few minutes later, they entered the almost deserted restaurant. It was a cosy looking place, with comfy booths and an overly helpful, cheerful team of servers. I guess they didn't get many customers by the looks of how quiet it was. Lissa and the others were seated towards the back of the room and given menus. After they had ordered, Thomas excused himself and silently walked towards the men's room. By the time he had joined them again, the group were already halfway through their meal.

"Hey, where have you been?" Adrian asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

"Quick, get up we've got to go."

"What..."

"They're back! Come on, we've got to go now!"

Everyone jumped to their feet and ran for the door.

"Hey! You haven't paid yet!" The manager yelled.

"Money's on the table!" Eddie called back as they ran out the door.  
They jumped into the van, this time with Eddie driving, and raced down the street. They looked out the window to notice there were two cars on their trail.  
_  
Come on guys, you can do this, _I urged._  
_  
"How do they keep finding us?" Lissa asked, more to herself than anyone else.__

Yes, I wonder how Carly is able to keep finding them...

They were just heading around the corner when I started to black out. It was then I finally noticed the piercing pain of the Stirgoi's teeth on my neck...  
_  
No, not now!  
_  
Bullets started to rain down upon the van. Lissa's foot had caught in one of the seat belts and she was busy trying to get free when one of the bullets was fired straight towards her  
chest.

_NO, LISSA!_

Her scream filled the entire car as Christian pushed her out of the way and took the full impact of the bullet._  
_My vision started to blur and the darkness started to creep in until it completely blocked me from Lissa's mind.

The last thing I witnessed was the pool of blood trickling from Christian's limp body.

* * *

**Alright that's the end of chapter six! Lot's of questions are left to be answered in the next few chapters and will Christian survive?  
I hope you all enjoyed it and please remember to R&R and let me know what you are thinking!  
Next chapter up soon! :D **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! Here's the seventh chapter of, "My version of the last Sacrifice." I hope you all enjoy it and I just wanted to say a huge thanks to 'Raised with Fangs' for the awesome comment and suggestion. And also, thank you again to anyone else who has commented/reviewed. I really appreciate all types of feedback, it helps me a lot!  
Anywho, there's only three more chapters to go and I will hopefully have them up very soon :)  
Enjoy! **

**

* * *

****~*~Chapter Seven~*~**

EVEN THOUGH I WAS TRAPPED in the complete darkness of my mind, I still couldn't get the haunting image of Christian surrounded by a pool of blood out of my head. It killed me not knowing what was happening, whether he had survived and what kind of condition he was in now. Hopefully Lissa would be able to use her Spirit powers to heal any damage, but if it was too late...

I mentally shuddered at the thought. She'd once brought me back from the dead and because of that, we were bonded. But if Christian was to die to and Lissa brought him back as well, she would become too unstable and loose herself, just like Avery Lazar who was now currently locked away in a mental institution.  
I silently hoped that the damage wasn't too bad so that she wouldn't have to make that choice, because I knew that she would bring him back no matter the consequences.

It felt like hours had past when I started to feel a change. The darkness around me began to lift and I could suddenly feel the bond. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I quickly slipped into Lissa mind and looked down to see Christian's smiling face. I sighed in relief, he was alive!

"Thank you," he said as Lissa finished wrapping the white cloth around his shoulder.

"Don't thank me; I should be the one thanking you. You saved my life and could have been killed in the process. So thank you," she said warmly as she softly kissed his cheek. She started to pull back but Christian gently cupped her check and brought his lips to hers.

"It was worth it, besides it's only a scratch," he teased as they broke apart. They had suddenly realised that they were still in the van and decided that it was best to leave the mushy stuff for later.

"Yes, it's a scratch now because I healed you. But the bullet savaged one of your arteries and that _is_ a big deal."

"Yeah man, you've lost a lot of blood. I mean look at the floor!" Eddie said, while pointing to the ground. It was completely covered with blood stains, but the van was already in a pretty bad shape. There were bullet holes everywhere and practically every window had been smashed to pieces.

Well, hopefully the Mastrano's have a feeder at hand that you three can use. You haven't feed in a couple of nights and all need the blood, especially you Christian," Thomas said from the front seat. He was sitting next to Eddie who was currently driving. "We should only be a few minutes away from arriving now."

Lissa sighed as a thought crossed her mind.

"I wish Rose was here," she muttered. "I'm worried about her, I feel like something's wrong. I know the bond only works one way, but I sense that something strange is happening to Rose. I wish I could know if she was alright..."

"Yeah, me to," Adrian agreed, coming into the conversation for the first time. It looked like he had just woken up. "I've been trying to reach her, but something's blocking me." He saw Lissa's worried expression and quickly continued, "But she's definitely still alive, she's just out of reach at the moment. Don't stess Cousin, Rose is tough, she'll be alright."  
It must be the endorphins blocking him from contacting me...

"Besides," Christian said while curling his arm around her. "You know what Mia said; the Guardians have a fair idea of where she is and are planning to go get her."

"Yes, but they're mainly going because they think the Stirgoi have us as well! What happens if they realise we're not there and just decide to leave her there to die!" Lissa exclaimed frantically. Adrian just snorted.

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about that since Belikov is one of the Guardians apart of the rescue."

I would have been glad to hear that help wasn't too far away, except for the small fact that the Guardians also wanted me dead. The only good thing about it was that I would soon be able see Dimitri.

"He's a Guardian again?" Eddie asked surprised.

"Yeah, since the massacre they've needed all the Guardians they can get and he did give them a lot of useful information about where they could find the Stirgoi. So they decided to trust him again," Thomas said as the van came to a halt in front of an old looking building full of apartments.

"This is it," Eddie informed the others as he began to get out.

"Do you think it's a good idea to leave the van out here in the open like this? If the Stirgoi following us see the van, they're going to know we're inside the building. And I don't want to have to go through another chase; we barely made it out alive last time. If it wasn't for Eddie's mad driving skills then we would all be dead," Christian said sounding serious for once. And I had to agree with him, he did have a good point. But before anyone else could say anything, Thomas spoke.

"Nah, I wouldn't bother. We're not going to be that long and there's hundreds of apartments in this building, so they wouldn't be able to find us anyway."

"Yeah, but Christian's right. We're better off to move the van, it will only take a few seconds anyway," Adrian pointed out.

"But..." Thomas began to argue, but Adrian cut him off.

"Why are you so against this? It's our safest option."

Thomas just stood there expressionless, not knowing what to say. There was something off about him, he didn't seem like himself. I watched him carefully through Lissa eyes as he finally spoke.

"Yeah, you're right, sorry. Guess I'm just being overcautious."

With the group all in agreement, Eddie moved the van into the underground car park and then they all entered the building together.

"The Mastrano's live on the fifth floor in apartment 121," Adrian said as they all climbed into the elevator.

As the lift began to rise, so did Lissa's emotions and I found myself beginning to worry with her. What if her half sibling was a complete jerk and refused to help them? What if they had moved houses or Countries? What if the Stirgoi had reached them first?

"I still think that name sounds familiar. Argh, where have I heard it before," Christian thought aloud as they rounded the corner and came to halt in front of the door that read 121. They all stood there silently, not knowing what to do next.

"Guess I'll just knock on the door then..." Lissa said anxiously. She reached up to the door and knocked three times.

"Oh, yes that's where I've heard it before," Christian said as it finally dawned on him. "But it couldn't be..."

"Why? Who is it Christian?" Lissa asked impatiently. He was just about to answer when the door swung open and everyone gasped. Inside stood a young girl with a tangle of light brown hair and a set of bright green eyes, the exact same colour as Lissa's. I couldn't believe it. It was Jill.

"Hey guys, it's so good to see you all!" She said in her quirky excited voice. Ever since I had first met her, she had always treated us like celebrities. She looked slightly confused as she ushered them all inside. "Not to sound rude, but what are you all doing here?"

"Well, we were just passing through and thought that we'd all come and pay you a visit," Christian said, covering up the real reason why they were here.

"Yeah, I'm sorry it's so sudden. I hope we're not intruding," Lissa said politely, trying to hide her mixed emotions.

"No, it's completely fine. I'm just a little surprised as I heard you were all missing. I was so upset when I heard! Thank goodness the rumours were wrong." She smiled brightly at them all and no-one could help but return it, even Adrian. She almost fainted when she saw this. I mentally laughed; Jill had the biggest crush on him.

"Jill, who's at the door?"

A slim women with straight black hair and deep blue eyes, accompanied with long lushes lashes entered the hallway and froze. "Who's this?" She asked. Her eyes locked with Lissa's and they both gave each other a knowing look.

"Oh, this is Adrian, Christian and Lissa. They are friends from school, but I am not sure who the other two are. Sorry." She looked toward Eddie and Thomas and then back to her mother.

"Yeah, sorry we didn't introduce them before. This is Eddie; he's a friend of ours and was in the same year level as us at the Academy. And this is Thomas; he's a Guardian at the Royal Court and came along to help protect us with Eddie," Lissa said, not once taking her eyes off the women in front of her.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you all. My name is Emily Mastrano, I'm Jill's mother. Would you all like something to eat and drink?" The group nodded and followed Jill and her mother into the lounge room.

"You don't happen to have a feeder on hand do you?" Lissa asked cautiously, not wanting to sound rude. Emily smiled and pointed to a door on the right.

"Yes, her name is Samantha. You are all welcome to go through at one at a time. Just let her know that you are a friend of ours and she'll be happy to help you out."

"Thank you, Christian why don't you go first?"

He looked her in the eyes to see if she would be alright without him and then finally nodded.

"Alright, but I'll be right back." He walked off into the room Emily had pointed out and then every took a seat on the couch.

"I'll go make us some tea," Emily said, excusing herself from the room. Lissa followed behind, offering to help. They both walked into the kitchen and shut the door. Emily switched the kettle on and the turned around.

"You know." It wasn't a question and Lissa knew exactly what she meant.

"Yes, I know about the affair." Lissa's voice was filed with hurt, but she stayed strong. "Does Jill know?"

Emily shook her head.

"We will have to tell her the truth you know?"

Emily sighed. "Yes, I know. But is there any particular reason why you need her to know the truth?"

Lissa twiddled with her thumbs for a moment and then answered, "I need her to come back to Court with me so that I am able to be on the council. Because everyone believes I have no family, I am not allowed to vote nor have my say in the proceedings of things. And if I can't vote, I can't save Rose's life."

Emily eyes lit up at the sound of my name.

"I met Rose once, when we leaving for the holidays. She's a wonderful girl and Jill thinks very highly of her."

Lissa looked at her in surprise.

"So you don't think she murdered the Queen then?"

Jill's mum smiled sincerely.

"No, I don't think Rose would be capable of doing something like that. I've heard she has a temper, but she has too much of caring nature, especially towards you from what I've heard."

Lissa was trying to hold back her tears as thoughts about my safety filled her mind.

"So you will let Jill come back with us then?" She asked; hope filling her voice for the first time in days.

Emily nodded.

"Thank you." Lissa turned to leave but was stopped.

"How are you going to prove that Jill is your half-sibling though?"

Lissa reached into her jacket and pulled out the blue folder.

"With this," She said placing it on the bench. "It's got things like bank statements, and if it gave us enough information to find out what City you lived in, then it should prove that Jill's related to me."

Emily nodded.

"I'm sorry by the way... about the affair." She said as she filled up the cups of tea. "We never wanted to hurt anyone, but we did, so I'm sorry."

Lissa stood there, frozen for a moment as she thought.

"Why did he do it?" She finally asked.

Emily sighed and turned around, leaning against the sink as she spoke.

"I was working at a bar in Las Vegas when we first met. I had recently lost my husband to cancer and I was looking for away to take my mind off things. I was serving drinks when your father entered the bar, and after a couple of drinks we started to talk. He was telling me about how he kept having massive fights with his wife. She was unhappy and expected more from him, but with a demanding job, looking after his children and trying to make his marriage work, the pressure was getting to him.

"I started to share my thoughts with him and told him how he could improve things at home. When it was time to leave, he thanked me and left. I thought that would be the last time I would see him, but a week later, when I was getting ready to leave; he came waltzing back into the bar. He said my advice had worked perfectly and he wanted to take me out for dinner as thanks. Eventually he persuaded me and we had dinner. We talked, laughed and well one thing led to another..." She dropped her head in shame.

"It was just one time, and we had both had a bit too much to drink, not that excuses anything though. But that one time was enough for me to fall pregnant with Jill. I managed to contact him again and he told me that he was sorry, but he couldn't have anything to do with our baby's life. He said he would deposit a large amount of money in my account and then that would be it from him."

Lissa couldn't move. How _could he be so...low? _Lissa thought.

"He loved you kids and your mother to much to just give it all up," she said, seeing the pain on Lissa's face.

"It still doesn't change the fact that what he did was cowardly and extremely low," she hissed.

"No, it doesn't. Not for either of us."

Lissa couldn't help but feel sorry for the women she had convinced herself that she would hate. It must have been hard to raise a baby all by herself, and to keep the father's identity a secret as well.

"Well, what's done is done," Lissa said. "The best thing to do now is to try and move forward from all this mess. And we should start by telling Jill the truth."

"Tell me what?" Jill asked curiously as she stepped into the kitchen.

Emily's face was filled with worry as she motioned for Jill to follow her as she brought the tea out into the living room. She sat down, took a deep breath and started to tell Jill the entire story.

"Wait, so this means that Lissa and I are half-sisters?" She asked after her mother had finished. Everyone nodded and Jill smiled. "That's so cool! Oh wait, that must sound really inappropriate. I'm sorry Lissa, I don't mean to say that the circumstances aren't horrible, it's just I've always wanted to have a sibling and I think it's awesome that you are my sister." She said, continuing to babble on. Lissa chuckled.

"It's okay Jill, I'm glad that out of everyone in the world that you are my sister."

Jill blushed and then asked, "So what now?"

Now, you've got to go pack your things," Adrian said as he exited the feeder's room."And while Jill's doing that, you should go and feed," he said speaking to Lissa.

"Wouldn't she be too tired now?"

Christian pulled her off the couch and led her to the room. "We both only took small amounts, so she will be fine. Go on."

Lissa nodded, but before she entered the room she turned towards Emily and said, "You're welcome to come back to the Royal Court with us if you want." Emily started to protest, but Eddie cut her off.

"It would actually probably be for the best. The Stirgoi probably know what we're up to and if they find out where you live..." he trailed off, knowing she would understand his warning.

"Alright, I'll come. Thank you."

An hour later, Jill and her mother were packed and ready to go.

"Where's Eddie?" Adrian asked as they all got prepared to leave.

"He went to go see if the coast was clear," Thomas said, standing just outside the door. "Here he comes now."

Eddie came rushing down the hallway, signalling for everyone to get back inside.

"We can't go anywhere," he said as he began to lock the doors. "There's a group of at least six Stirgoi roaming the halls, and with only Thomas and I to protect you all, it's likely someone would get hurt."

"But we can't just sit here and wait for the Stirgoi to come find us; we should at least try to escape. Isn't there a fire exit or something?" Christian asked annoyed.

"Yes, there is fire exit, but it has an alarm on it. But..."

"Oh fantastic," Christian said sarcastically, cutting Emily off. "How else are we going to escape?"

"Well, as I was saying before..." Emily continued. "There's a secret passageway in the spare room we can use. It leads right to the undercover car park." Everyone looked at Emily in surprise.

"Well, I guess that's sorted then," Lissa said. "Let's go."

They all headed towards the spare room in silence.

"Why do you have a secret passageway?" Christian asked curiously.

Emily smiled and said, "I had a feeling that I might need it one day."

They entered the small room and Emily went to the window and pulled the curtain string three times. A crack in the wall appeared and Jill pulled on it to reveal a hidden door. Inside were stone steps heading downwards, towards the car park like Emily had said.  
_  
BANG!_

The group all jumped at the sound of the door being kicked in.  
"Hurry, get inside!" Thomas exclaimed in whisper. Everyone hurried silently through the passageway. I could feel Christian's hand tighten on Lissa's as they ran down the spiralling stairs, not daring to look back.  
_  
Argh! It's so frustrating not being able to do anything. Why did I have to be locked up in this stupid cell!_

Lissa and Christian were the first to enter the dark, damp underground car park. Eddie came out next, but the others were still struggling on the stairs with Jill and Emily's luggage.

The next thing that happened was a blur. Eddie grabbed Lissa and Christian and pushed them back against the wall as he pulled out his stake. A Stirgoi came lunging forward at him, but was soon on the ground withering in pain from Christian's fire. Eddie struck the Stirgoi in the heart and nodded his thanks to Christian. But it wasn't over yet. Next thing they knew, another one had come up behind them and pulled Lissa from Christian's grasp.

"Lissa!" Christian cried as he set the Stirgoi on fire. It let go of Lissa, but she wasn't done yet. She pulled a stake from her jacket and stabbed it in the chest, twisting it as she went. The male Stirgoi fell to the ground, dead.

Lissa turned around to see Christian and Eddie's mouths opened wide.

"What?" She asked, acting like what she had just done was no big deal.

"Where did you get that?" Eddie asked, still in complete shock.

"I've had it ever since I staked Dimitri."

I couldn't help but feel proud of her. Staking a Stirgoi isn't an easy thing to do, especially for Moroi. Dhampirs are much stronger and quicker, but on the other hand, that Stirgoi definitely hadn't expected Lissa to turn around and stake him. It was a smart move. Stupid and dangerous, but clever.

"Nice move," Christian said as he walked over to where she stood. At that moment the others came running out of the passageway breathless.

"We... got to... keep... moving..." Adrian gasped.

"They're coming, we heard them on the stairs," Thomas said, clearly in much better shape than Adrian.

Eddie ran ahead and hurriedly brought the van back around. Everyone jumped in, not worrying about seatbelts as Eddie hit the accelerator.

"What happened to the van?" Jill asked anxiously.

"Um... well..." Lissa started, not sure what to say exactly. "We've kind of ran into some trouble along the way."

"Oh..." was all Jill could manage to muster as she picked up one of the many bullets that littered the blood stained floor.  
_  
"Rose!"  
_  
I knew that voice... but where was it coming from?  
_  
"Roza, please wake up! Please..." _My heart began to was only one person in the entire world who called me Roza, and I instantly wanted to see his face. I gave a fleeting last look at everyone in the van through Lissa eyes, wishing that there was some way I could communicate with them. But there was nothing I could say or do to help them now. They were on their way back to the Royal Court, and all I could do was hope that they all made it back in one piece.  
_  
Be safe... _I thought as I slipped back into my own mind. I slowly opened my eyes and smiled when I saw the person in front of me.

"Dimitri," I whispered.

He sighed in relief and returned my smile. "Rose, are you okay?"

I nodded, trying to get up.

I felt Dimitri's strong, warm arms wrap around my waist as he helped me to my feet.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, as I rubbed my temple, trying to stop my sudden head ach.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to rescue you of course."

My mind was spinning. _Rescue? Why would I need to be rescued? _

I looked around, my head pounding as I tried to clear my mind._  
_  
I turned around to face Dimitri, trying to keep my expression blank. I knew he would be watching me.

"Rose, what happened to you? Why did the Stirgoi bring you here?"

I hung my head, not wanting nor knowing how to answer his questions. But he wouldn't take no for an answer. He cupped my face in his palm and trapped me with his eyes. "Roza, please tell me. I want to help you, but I can't if you keep me in the dark."

His face was filled with such worry and love; I couldn't stand to lie to him. I tried to keep my voice strong as I whispered, "I don't remember."

* * *

**That's the end of chapter seven! I hope you all enjoyed it!  
Let me know what you think about the story so far**** :)  
Next chapter up soon! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, everyone! Here's the next chapter to the story.**

I hope you all enjoy reading it, and please remember to let me know what you'**re all thinking about the story so far. Is there anything you want to see more/less of? Is there anything I should change or should I just continue on with the story like I have been? :)**

Anywho, here is the eighth Chapter! :D

* * *

**~*~Chapter Eight~*~**

THE SILENCE DRAGGED ON AS we both stood there in shock. Not knowing what else to say, I slid down the wall and placed my thumping head in my arms. It didn't take long for Dimitri to snap out of his trance and kneel down beside me, brushing back my dark brown hair as he lifted my chin.

"What's the last thing you remember?" He asked gently, not wanting to push me too far.

"Carly," I answered annoyed. Why couldn't I remember anything? "She threatened to turn you if I didn't go with them."  
Dimitri's neutral expression turned to one of surprise and displeasure.

"Roza…" He began. "You shouldn't have gone with them, you didn't need to worry about me."

"Yes I did. I've already lost you once; I wasn't going to lose you again." Dimitri sighed, clearly frustrated.

"But you could have died! I am not worth…" I silenced him with my lips.

"Yes, you are worth it," I said, breaking away from the kiss and standing up. "I love you and I'd do anything to not go through the pain of losing you again. What's done is done, so let's just forget about it okay?" He nodded.

"I love you too," he said. I smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and brought me close. His body pressed against my own as we deepened the kiss, not caring about anything else in world at that moment except each other. I felt his hands in my hair as he started kissing my neck, giving me a chance to breathe. I was just about to pull his attention back when he gasped.

"What is it?" I asked confused. He took a step back, eyes trailing on my neck. He brushed his fingers lightly over it and hissed.

"You've got bit marks on you," he said, looking very much like he wanted to kill someone.

"Bite marks..." I repeated, trying to remember. But after a minute I gave up. "Argh! It must be the Stirgoi's endorphins messing with my head."

Dimitri nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it must be. Which is good in a way, because it means your memories should eventually return."

"_Should?_" I asked anxiously. He wrapped his arms around me, which instantly made me feel a lot better.

"Don't worry, _they_ will return," he said reassuringly.

BANG!

Both of our heads turned towards the closed door. Something was definitely happening out there.

"Come on, we've got to get you out of here before the Stirgoi overwhelm us and the rest of the Guardians."

He took my hand as we headed for the door. It was only then I realised that he was wearing the Guardian's black and white uniform. That's when I remembered something. I had been in Lissa's head at the time when she and the others had mentioned that Dimitri had become a Guardian again as he had given them useful information, and because the Massacre had wiped out a huge amount of the Guardians. I also remembered what else Lissa had said.

"They're only here because they think Lissa and the others are here as well aren't they?"

Dimitri shook his head as he slowly opened the door.

"They wanted you back under their custody as well. They think that it would be too dangerous for them to have you in Stirgoi hands," He whispered, not wanting to alert any nearby  
Stirgoi. And the nauseous feeling in my stomach told me that there were definitely some around. I sighed

"Great, so they really do believe I'm working with the Stirgoi."

"Don't worry about that now; we'll work it out later. Right now we have to worry about getting out of here."

He pulled out his stake and passed me a spare one he must have brought along with him. We headed out into the hallway and almost immediately came across two Stirgoi. Dimitri and I hastily got into a back to back stance and started to fight.

I kicked my Stirgoi in the chest with as much power as I could muster, but it didn't even cause him to stumble. Force wasn't going to work, what I needed was a distraction. I swiped my stake at his face, but he managed to lean back just in time and grabbed my arm.

He twisted, but I refused to scream or let go of my stake. I punched him in the face with my free fist, and quickly ripped my arm from his grasp. I swapped my stake from my right hand to my left and slashed at his neck. It wasn't enough to decapitate him, but it sure made one hell of a distraction. Blood began to poor out of the wound as the Stirgoi shrieked in pain. I knew I didn't have long, so I pushed the stake up into his chest until I reached its heart. Then it was all over.

I turned around to find Dimitri leaning casually against the wall, watching me as his Stirgoi laid on the ground dead.

"Thanks for the help," I said sarcastically.

He got off the wall and walked over to my side as we made our way out to the front.

"You were doing fine and you know that I would have helped you if I thought you needed it."

I did know that which was why I had always felt so safe around him, even in life threatening situations. My stomach had stopped grumbling and everything seemed eerily quiet.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

Dimitri shrugged.

"The Guardians are probably finished searching their areas and are outside waiting for me to return. Which reminds me..." He stopped walking and pulled me into his arms as he brought his lips to mine. I leaned in deepening the kiss.

"I didn't know if I would have another chance to kiss you again. As soon as they see you they will take you away, but I swear I'll get you out of there. I won't let anything happen to you."

I just nodded as we began walking again. Up ahead, I could see sunlight pouring into the entrance and could hear the voices of the Guardians.

"What's taking Guardian Belikov so long?" I couldn't recognise the voice of the speaker, but I definitely knew the person who spoke next.

"Have patience, he's probably still searching the area and has most likely found someone." It was my mum, Janine Hathaway. I immediately began to feel nervous. I hadn't spoken or seen my mum since my trials and I didn't know whether she was on my side or not.

"He better have your good-for-nothing daughter with him. We can't come back empty handed otherwise there will be mayhem."

I clenched my fists, wishing I could punch that guy in the face right now.

"Unless you want to be demoted I suggest you shut the hell up and never talk about my daughter like that again."

My jaw dropped. Did my mother seriously just defend me?

"Rose is innocent, and sooner or later you will all realise that." She was using her most serious and powerful tone, which meant she was definitely not joking around. Guess there's a first time for everything...

Arguments began to break out as Dimitri and I entered the small clearing located in front of the Stirgoi's base. But everyone stopped in silence when they realised we had joined them.

"Nice job Belikov."

The man who had first started the argument with my mum stepped forward.

"Don't act like what I did was noble, Keith. Rose doesn't deserve to go back to prison. The only reason I agreed to help you was so she wasn't in the hands of the Stirgoi."

Dimitri lingered in front of me protectively, never taking his eyes of the Guardians in front of us. I glanced over to my mother to see her watching us curiously, and knew it wouldn't be long until she figured out that there was something going on between us.

"Well, it doesn't really matter why you did it. Either way she's coming back with us. Wilson, can you pass me the syringe?" Keith asked as he took a cautious step towards us. My mother stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"You are not sedating her, we had an agreement."

I cringed at the thought of being sedated as a flood of memories came rushing back. I could suddenly remember being bound to a chair and a man ordering one of the Stirgoi to feed off me. My head began to pound again as I tried to work out who the man was. My memories were hazy and his identity was just out of reach. I rubbed my temple in frustration, which caught Dimitri's immediate attention.

"Rose, are you okay?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Some memories are just coming back to me," I answered dully. He turned around in surprise and was just about to say something when Keith started making his way towards us.

"We did have an agreement, but Lord Ivashkov as ordered that we sedate her so that she is unable to make an escape. So if you'll excuse me." He pushed pass my mother and trudged towards Dimitri and I, syringe in hand.

"Don't do it," Dimitri warned, but Keith ignored him.

"Step aside or you'll be joining her in prison." My head shot up at this.

"Stay away from her," Dimitri hissed.

Keith just shrugged.

"Fine have it your way," he said as he signalled for his team to attack. A group of ten Guardians began to advance, which was far too many for Dimitri and I to fight off. I saw the look on his face and knew he wasn't going to back down, so I quickly stepped in front of him and turned toward Keith.

"No, don't do it. Sedate me, do whatever you want. Just leave Dimitri and my mum alone."

Keith smirked and ordered his team to stand down.

"Rose, what are you doing?" I turned around to see Dimitri's deep, dark brown eyes watching me with confusion.

"They'll take me back to prison anyway, besides it's not over yet." I tried to smile reassuringly, but it didn't reach my eyes. Dimitri was about to argue again, but I quickly cut him off. "Please, don't fight. I want to get this over and done with."

I watched him closely as he tried to read my face. He was torn between what he knew he should do and what he wanted to do. He knew the best option was for me to calmly go along with whatever they wanted me to do, but he also didn't want anyone hurting me in anyway. But finally, common sense won and he nodded.

"Fine, but she's in my care while she's sedated."

Keith agreed and then pulled out the syringe.

"Hold out your arm," he ordered. I kept my eyes on Dimitri's face as I gave my arm to Keith. I felt the sting of the needle as it entered my arm, but it was nothing compared to the pain us Dhampirs usually go through. I felt Dimitri's arms wrap securely around me as I began to sway. He lifted me into his arms as my eye lids began to slowly close. I tried to fight the sedatives, but only managed to stay awake long enough to hear a soft voice whisper, "I'll watch over you Roza."

Trapped in the darkness of my mind once again, I found that I was able to remember everything I had thought I had forgotten. I just hoped that I would still be able to remember when I woke up.

I knew I would be facing certain death when I opened my eyes, which made me contempt to keep them closed. Even when I knew the sedatives had worn off, I stayed motionless and focused on the deep breathing of the person sitting next to me. I didn't know exactly where I was, but I knew I wasn't in jail. The bed was far too comfy, which probably meant I was in the hospital. The beeping of nearby machines only confirmed by suspicion.

The sound of the door opening caught my attention as the person beside me got up.

"Is she awake yet?" It was the sound of my mother's concerned voice.

"No, not yet. But I've been watching her and she's stirred a couple of times, so she'll probably be awake soon." I immediately knew from his Russian accent that the other person in the room was Dimitri. There was silence for a moment as they both stood there motionlessly, neither one knowing what to say or do.

My mother was the first to break the silence.

"You love her don't you?" I froze. So, she had finally worked it out.

"Yes," Dimitri answered. "I love her very much." I waited for my mother's rage to come, but it never did.

"How long has this been going on for?" She asked calmly.

I was shocked at how well she was taking all this, I was sure she would have cracked it by now.

"It started just a little while after I became her mentor."

There was silence again.

"If you don't mind me saying, you don't seem to be too angry about this," Dimitri said, pointing out the obvious.

My mother chuckled.

"Oh come on, I'm not that cruel," she said. "I was young once to, and even though I am a bit concerned about the age gap, I trust you enough to take good care of her. Besides, it's not like I can stop Rose from doing what she wants."

This time it was Dimitri who chuckled.

"Yeah, she's pretty stubborn isn't she?" I fluttered open my eyes and let out a sigh, deciding it was probably a good time to 'wake up' before they started to make a list of all my difficult traits.

"I heard that," I said as I tried to get up, but something stopped me. I looked down to find my arms and legs bound to the bed, just like I had been in the Stirgoi's hide out. "They really don't trust me do they?" I laid back down on the bed, feeling completely helpless.

"No, they don't. But we're going to change that," my mother said reassuringly as she walked over to my side. Dimitri leaned back against the wall to give us some space, but his eyes never left my face.

"Thanks, but I don't think there's anything anyone can do."

"Yes, there is Rose," My mother said determinedly. "Lissa and the others got back a couple of hours ago, so Lissa is now on the council. She will be able to try and win over people's votes."

I wanted to believe my mother so bad that I had a chance, but after what had happened with the Stirgoi, I was in too deep and there was no way out.

"It won't work, not after what's happened." I turned my head away and stared at the wall on the other side of the room. The sooner I excepted my fate the better.

"Rose," Dimitri said, coming to stand beside the bed. "Rose, look at me."

As soon as I had turned around to face him, I immediately wish I hadn't. His gorgeous brown eyes melted away my mask and tears began to fall down my cheeks. He brushed back my hair soothingly and kissed my forehead.

"Shhh…" He whispered softly. "It will be alright, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise." My mother turned her attention to the floor, trying to give us some privacy.

"How?" I asked in disbelief. "Dimitri, we both know that not even you can stop this from happening."

"I'll find a way," he said determinedly. "Do you remember anything else? Anything that could help us save you?"

I scrunched my forehead in thought as I tried to remember.

"Yes…" It was all coming back to me now. "I remember being brought into the room and being tied to the chair. I tried to figure out what they wanted with me, but Carly wouldn't tell me. That's when Nathan Ivashkov walked in."

My mother gasped.

"Adrian's Father? Oh, that's not good…" She said as she came back over to my bed.

"Why is that not good?" I asked, almost positive that I already knew the answer.

"He's acting King until they determine whose next in line for the throne," Dimitri answered. He looked like he was deep in thought. "Did he say anything to you?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, he told me that he was planning on becoming King so that he could make us all turn Stirgoi. He believes that it's the only way to resolve peace, so in other words he's lost it."

"But what's that got to do with you?" My mother asked confused, but Dimitri had already figured out the answer.

"He needed someone to take the blame for Tatiana's murder. And by making Rose look like she was working with the Stirgoi, he assumed it would take her out of the picture permanently," he said, disgusted by Lord Ivashkov's plan.

My mother looked at me for conformation and I nodded.

"Well, now that we know who's behind this we can do something about it," She said, taking out her phone.

"How? We can't prove anything and do I even have a lawyer?"

She ignored my questions as she made a call.

"Hello, Abe?" I sighed as I heard my father's name. I should have realised that he would be my lawyer again, who else would want to represent me? "How far away are you?... Yep… uh ah… okay. Listen, we've got some information for you. Nathan Ivashkov is the one behind this mess," she paused for a moment and then smiled. "Alright, thank you. See you soon." She hung up the phone and looked toward me. "He's flight has been delayed which means we need to find a lawyer to fill in for him until he gets here."

"Why, when's my trial?" I asked, realising for the first time that I didn't even know what date it was or how many days had gone by.

"It's in a couple of hours, but don't worry Abe will be back as soon as he can and he is going to try and dig up some dirt about Nathan Ivashkov on his way here."

"Has he found out anything else," Dimitri asked as he wiped away the last of my dry tears.

"I don't know, he didn't say."

I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but I couldn't be bothered asking for an explanation either. I wanted to ask a million other questions like: How's Lissa? Are the others all alright? Am I able to see them before the trial? But, I couldn't muster the strength to speak, so I just laid there gazing into the depths of Dimitri's eyes until the doctor walked into the room with two Guardians.

The doctor headed over to my bed, picked up my charts and began to flick through them. He had light brown hair and dark blue eyes, which were covered up by the black glasses he currently had on. The tag he was wearing told me that his name was, "Dr. Angelo Broom."

"Alright, you've been re-hydrated and you don't seem to have any serious injuries, so you should be fine to return back to your cell," Dr. Broom stated.

"Great," I answered sarcastically as the two Guardians came forward, but Dimitri moved in front of them and asked if we could have a minute alone.

"Fine," the taller of the two answered. "But be quick about it."

The three of them walked out the room and Dimitri turned back towards me.

My mother gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "I'll see you again soon," and then walked out the door.

Dimitri walked back over to my side and started brushing back my hair again, softly kissing my forehead, cheeks, neck and the edge of my lips. I tilted my head up to try and catch his lips, but he pulled back.

"What, don't I get a goodbye kiss?" I asked half teasingly, but also half hurt.

"No, because I will kiss you again Roza." I couldn't help but smile at the thought of being able to kiss him again. "This won't be our last kiss," he promised. He gave me one last look of desire, then slowly turned around and walked out the door.

When I entered my newly built cell I was ordered to change into a navy blue jump suit, which would have to be the ugliest thing I've seen in my entire life, but I didn't have the energy to complain. So, I slipped into the hideous piece of clothing and then curled up into a ball and closed my eyes. I didn't want to go into Lissa's head as I knew that I would be the main subject, so I drifted off to sleep instead.

What seemed like minutes later, I was awoken by the sound of the cell door sliding open.

I opened my eyes and found Keith standing with two other Guardians in the doorway. I got up and glared at Keith, but he just smirked in return as he twirled around some handcuffs and said, "It's time to go to Court Miss Hathaway."

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**That's the end of chapter eight!  
Please remember to R&R  
Next chapter up very soon! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story :)**

I've actually now finished the entire story and will upload the next chapter tomorrow if I have time and then the last chapter should be up the next day after that.  
Anyway, I hope you all like this next chapter and I hope you don't find it to long as it's quite a bit longer than my others :) 

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~*~Chapter Nine~*~

EVERY EYE WAS TRAINED ON me as I entered the completely packed Court house. I was seated at the front, with two Guardians on either side of me. I turned around to see if I could find a familiar face, but in return I got hundreds of death glares from the crowd. I was just about to turn around when I found them. Adrian, Christian, Mia and Eddie were all sitting at the back in the right hand corner. Adrian's eyes locked with mine as we both tried to communicate the words we wish we could say to each other. I wanted so badly to thank him for taking care of Lissa and going with her to find her half-sibling, and to apologise for breaking his heart. I had never wanted to hurt him, but I had and the guilt I felt was tremendous. And what's even worse is that he will soon find out about his father's betrayal, which will most likely tip him over the edge.

I looked away, not being able to stand the pain in his eyes and looked over to find Mia holding his hand comfortingly. I smiled slightly, glad that Mia was able to be there for Adrian. And who knows, she might even be able to undo the damage I've done some day.

Eddie was in Guardian mode and was impossible to read. He only broke out of his emotionless state to give me a warm, reassuring smile, one which I tried to return.  
I looked around for Lissa but she was nowhere in sight, so I tried to search for her through the bond, but something was blocking me. I started to feel panicked as I hurriedly searched the room for her and sighed in relief when I finally spotted her at the Jury's table. She looked agitated and lost as she fiddled with her papers. That's when I realised that she must be on medication to stop her Spirit abilities; over wise she could just use her compulsion to make everyone believe I was innocent. The magic she felt when she used Spirit wasn't gone completely though, it was just dimmed and out of reach, which Lissa did not like.

She looked up from her papers and caught me watching her. I smiled at her, trying to get her to relax, but her face was stilled filled with concern and worry as gave me a small smile in return.

Lissa and I just watched each other for while until she tilted her head to her right, gesturing for me to look that in that direction. So I did and found Christian's Aunty Tasha Ozera, my mother, Dimitri, Jill and Emily all sitting in the front row. My mother and Tasha were too busy talking to notice me looking at them, but Dimitri looked like he had been watching my every move ever since I had entered the room. I noticed he was out of his Guardian clothes and was wearing his usual duster with his hair tied back. I wanted him here with me, but I knew that wasn't an option. So I just settled for drinking in his entire complexion, trying to remember every single detail until the Judge called for silence.

I turned around and was shocked to see that another person had joined me. It was Damon Tarus. The pale blonde haired man had been my Lawyer at my hearing, well that was he had been until my father had barged in demanding that he be my lawyer instead. An argument had broken out between the two men, but in the end I had to make the decision and I chose Abe. Which was why I was so surprised to see him here, he had been so mad when I last saw him at my hearing. He had taken a huge risk fighting for me, and when I ditched him I had almost ruined his reputation completely.

"So, how much did they pay you?" I asked, trying to break the ice.

"Not enough," he said through gritted teeth, refusing to even look at me.

I took that as a sign to shut up and instead waited for everyone to quieten down.

I looked up towards the stand and noticed I wasn't the only one. The Judge, who was an elderly, gray-haired Moroi, was looking very displease about the lack of order she was getting. She called for silence once again, and this time everyone listened, noting the serious tone in her voice. That's when I realised that she was the same Judge from my hearing. I sighed in frustration. It looked like my trial was going to go the exact same way my hearing did. Which was badly.

"This trial is now in order, in which we will determine whether there is enough evidence to convict," She stated. "Will the prosecuting lawyer please come forward."  
A middle aged man by the name of Henry Low walked to the front of the room and began the case by once again describing Tatiana's murder in horrifying detail. Once he was finished he also read out the evidence against me that was shown at my hearing, but he had more to say.

"We also have new evidence against Miss Hathaway," he said to the judge, who in turn nodded and called me up to the stands.

"Miss Hathaway," Henry began after I had been seated. "Is it not true that you were seen walking through the Royal Court's grounds calmly, with the very same group of Stirgoi that had massacred hundreds of lives that night?"

I froze. This had been the question I had been dreading.

"Yes, but…"

"And is it not true that Stirgoi had in fact blown up the very Jail cell you where in?" He asked cutting me off. I looked over to see Damon sitting there silently, not showing a care in the world about what was happening to me. Some lawyer he was.

"They did, but…"

"You see…"

"I only went with them because they gave me no choice," I said in a rushed voice, this time cutting him off before he had a chance to finish. A hum of angered whisper began to fill the room. Henry laughed mockingly at me.

"Are you expecting all of us to believe that the great Rose Hathaway was forced against her own will to go with them? From what I've heard, I thought you would have rather died than obey any Stirgoi demands." He looked up at me, waiting for a retort. But I wasn't sure how much I should say, there were still so many people who didn't know about Dimitri and I.

"It wasn't my life that was on the line," I said, glancing towards Dimitri. He nodded in encouragement, letting me know that it was alright for me to reveal our secret. I took a deep breath and said, "It was Dimitri Belikov's."

Henry smirked at this, obviously already at the conclusion that we were involved. But he didn't stop there, he wanted everyone to know the truth.

"So, why is his life so important to you Miss Hathaway?"

"He was my mentor when I was at school, I couldn't just save my own life by sacrificing his." I tried to act like I didn't know where this was heading, but I was sure I failed at this.

"Hmm… so you're just friends are you? Are you sure there's nothing else going on between…"

"That's enough," The Judge ordered, cutting Henry off. "Mr. Low, you are to only ask questions related to the case. Anything else is irrelevant."

I was glad that the Judge had finally stepped in to help, but it was too late, the damage had already been done. Everyone had begun talking again, their attentions directed at Dimitri and me as they spoke. "And Mr. Tarus, I suggest you actually try to put some effort in to defending your client," She managed to say over the commotion of the crowed. Damon reluctantly nodded and stood up to join Henry up the front.

It took a few minutes to calm down the crowd, but eventually the room became silent once again.

"Do we have information about where Guardian Belikov was on the night of the Massacre?" Damon asked, finally getting involved with the case. A folder was handed to him, which he began to flip through until he came across the information he wanted. "Ah, yes here it is. According to our records, Dimitri Belikov was found lying unconscious in the blown up Jail's rubble. Which means, that he could have been involved with this after all."

Even though Damon and I didn't like each other, I was still glad that he was now picking up his game and helping me prove my side of the story.

"Yes, but he was unconscious, which means we have no witnesses for the event. The only thing we know for sure was that Rosemarie Hathaway was seen escaping with the Stirgoi calmly and without a struggle, which was witnessed by a mass amount of people."

I didn't know how to respond to that. It was all lies, but I had no proof to convince anyone that my side of the story was true. I bet Nathan Ivashkov was smiling at my discomfort somewhere in the crowd at this moment.

"Is there anything else you would like to say or ask Miss Hathaway?" The Judge asked, facing the two lawyers in front of us.

"Yes," Damon said. "What happened to you when you were in the hands of the Stirgoi?" I sighed. I didn't really want to answer this because there was no way I could prove that any of it was true.

"I was blind folded when we reached the outside of the gates and then tied to a chair with metal bindings when we reached their hide out. One of the female Stirgoi, Carly, said that I was forced to walk through the Court's grounds with them so that when I got back into the Guardian's hands, my death would be certain."

That wasn't exactly true. Carly hadn't told me anything, Nathan was the one who had told me why I was there, but I didn't have any proof that he was the person behind everything, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"But why would they want you dead?" Henry asked, looking slightly pleased with himself. He knew that with no proof, it was certain that I would be found guilty.

"I don't know," I lied. "Maybe they think I'm a threat because I've killed so many Stirgoi for someone my age."

"Yes, maybe that's true. But you have no proof." My temper began to rise. Why did everything have to be based on stupid proof!

"I don't have proof, but why the hell would I turn my back on everything I believe in and join the Stirgoi world? And if I seriously was some dangerous murderer, don't you think I would have covered up my tracks. Someone has framed me, but you're all too stupid to realise it!"

"Miss Hathaway, that's enough." I scolded myself for losing it as I tried to calm down.

"You have quite a temper don't you?" Henry said, pointing out my rash behaviour to the entire room full of people. "I mean with a temper like that you could just snap and do something by accident, something like murdering the…"

"I didn't murder her!" I couldn't help but defend myself. I knew he was trying to lure me in, but he was really starting to piss me off. Besides, with no evidence to back me up, I was going to lose this Court case anyway.

"Silence," the gray-haired Judge ordered. "Miss Hathaway, if I have to pull you up one more time, there will be server consequences. That goes for you to Mr. Low." She warned us sharply. We both nodded in understanding and then she gestured for us to continue.

I looked over to the Jury table to see mixed emotions on all their faces. There was anger, disgust, pure rage, pity and there were even some shallow people who had entertained looks on their faces. But Lissa's face was the only one I wanted to see right now. She looked alarmed and very distressed. She met my glance and almost burst out into tears. The hope that she would have been able to save me was long gone, and now all that was left was the plain fact that I was going to die for something I didn't even do. So much for justice.

"Is there anything else that anyone wants to add?" The Judged asked as she scanned the room. I raised my hand.

"If I may, your Honour?" She nodded and I began to speak, directing my words towards the Jury while trying to keep my temper in check. "I know that you've all made up your minds already, and I'm fairly sure that I know what you're all going to vote. Most of you think that I'm guilty and that I murdered the Queen because of the overwhelming amount of evidence saying I did it."

I took a deep breath and continued.

"And even though I have no proof, please just try and see this from my point of view. Yes, I admit that I have some anger problems, but I have only ever used it in situations that have called for it, like when I needed to decapitate my first ever Stirgoi to protect my friends.  
"The Queen and I had our differences, but the thought of killing her had never even crossed my mind. So, what I'm trying to say is that I didn't murder her."

I dropped my head to the floor, not wanting to see the reactions from the Jury as my words sunk in.

I was sent back to my seat as the Jury began to decide how they were going to vote. I knew Lissa would be trying everything possible to try and convince people of my innocence, but her efforts were futile.

The Judge asked for the Jury to vote, but I looked away not wanting to see the eleven raised hands out of twelve, that would end my life. The Judge proclaimed that I had been found guilty and that I would be sentenced to death before the Moroi day ended. And just like that, it was all over.

A riot began to break throughout the crowd as I was being taken away. I could hear and see Tasha, Dimitri and my Mum yelling out to me as they tried to break pass the line of Guardians to get to me. Lissa was frozen to her chair, sobbing in Christian's arms. He must have ran to her side as soon as I had been found guilty.  
_  
Well, at least I know she'll be well looked after_, I thought to myself as I tried to look around the room for Adrian and the others. But I had already been forced out the door before I had the chance to find them.

I breathed in the cool, fresh air as I was guided towards my cell. It was where I would wait until I was brought to the execution platform. And just like Adrian had said to Lissa, my death would be public.

I was shoved inside my cell and was told I could see a maximum of five people before my hanging, which was due to be held in an hour. I gave the Guard the list of names of people I wanted to see and then went over to the back corner and sat on the floor.

Ten minutes later, Lissa and Christian walked into my cell. I got up as Lissa ran over to me, flinging herself into my arms as she began to sob.

"Shhh…" I said soothingly. "It will be okay. You'll be fine without me."

She took a step back and looked me in the eyes.

"How can you say that? You're my Best friend, how on earth am I going to be alright without you?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Liss, this is me we're talking about. If anything, you'll be much better off without me. Besides you've got Christian. I mean, I know he's not as great as me, but he's alright," I said teasingly, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey, I heard that," Christian said from the other end of the cell. He was standing there looking quite uncomfortable, so I gestured for him to join us. "But Lissa's right, this suck and it's completely unfair," he said once he had reached us. I sighed.

"Of course it's unfair, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Lissa was back in my arms crying again. I tried to calm her down, but she was to upset. So I just sunk to floor with her in my arms, brushing her hair until she was able to speak again.

"I'll miss you," she managed to say through her sobbing. I smiled warmly at her and replied, "I'll miss you too."

All three of us looked up at the sound of the door being opened.

"Times up," The guard said as he ordered Christian and Lissa to leave. I gave Lissa one last squeeze goodbye, not being able to say the actual words aloud, and then let her go. She walked out the door, trying not to start crying again and then disappeared around the corner. Christian started to follow after her, but I stopped him.

"Christian?"

"Yeah?" He said, turning around and walking back to where I stood.

"Please, look after her for me," I asked pleadingly. He nodded and then gave me a hug goodbye.

"Sorry things had to turn out like this," he said and then walked away.

A few minutes later, Adrian walked in and the whole process started again. I thanked him for everything he had done for me and apologised for hurting him so badly. We hugged, talked and I think Adrian even shed a couple of tears, though he would never have admitted it. Seeing him walk away when our time was up was just as painful as when Lissa and Christian as left, as I knew that it would be the last time I would ever speak to them again.

My Mum was next, but we hardly even spoke. The only thing I asked her was where Abe was, but she didn't have a clue. We just sat there hugging each other in silence, as tears began to fall down my cheeks. I tried to stopped myself from crying, but my mother didn't let me.  
"It's okay to cry. You don't need to be strong," she said softly as she whipped away my tears. But I had managed to stop just before she was forced to leave. She gave me one last hug and then kissed my forehead.  
"I'll see you soon," she said and the departed from the room. And just like everyone else, she had refused to say, "Goodbye."

I only had ten minutes left, and the last person to walk in was Dimitri. My heart stopped when I saw him and I couldn't stop myself from breaking out into tears. Dimitri walked over to where I stood and then wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm so sorry," I said in almost a whisper.

"Don't be sorry Roza; I'm the one who's sorry. I should have found a way to break you out of this place and then we could have run away together." I couldn't help but smile at the thought of running away with Dimitri. We could have been together without having to worry about keeping it a secret anymore. It would have just been the two of us for the rest of our lives, which was something I did not mind one little bit.

"Don't blame yourself, besides I wouldn't have been able to run away with you anyway. There would have been too many people who would have got hurt if I did." He smiled down at me and leaned in closer, his lips almost touching mine.

"You're always so selfless; you really need to learn to put yourself first sometimes."

I was about to argue with him, but he silenced me with his lips, which was just fine with me. The kiss was deep and full of passion, but it was over far too quickly. The Guard was standing in the door, waiting for Dimitri to leave, but I didn't want him to go.

"I love you," I told him. "Please never forget that." His eyes were full of pain as he gave me one last hug.

"I won't and I love you too, Roza. And remember, that won't be our last kiss." I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but nodded anyway, not trusting my voice as he walked away.

"Goodbye," I softly whispered when he was out of sight.

I turned around, expecting the Guard to close the door and walk away, but he didn't. Instead, Thomas walked in with a grave look on his face.

"It's time, isn't it?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes, it's time."

My heart pounded in my chest as I slowly made my way up the stairs. Hundreds of people had shown up to see my hanging, but no-one dared talk or even breathe as I made my way over to the middle of the stage. I looked around at all the faces in the crowd but saw no emotion. Nobody knew how to feel, there hadn't been an execution in our lifetime so no-one knew what to expect.

A man wearing a black mask, used to hide his identity, came forward and wrapped the noose around my neck. I shuddered as a single tear slipped silently down my face; unable to hold back the fear I was feeling. I was about to die, and there was nothing anyone could do. I knew that Dimitri and the others were down there in the crowd, but I couldn't bear to see their faces. I needed to be strong; I didn't want to look weak in my final moments.

I heard movement on the stairs and looked over to see Nathan Ivashkov walking over to me. He turned his back to the audience so he could face me and whispered, "Did you really think you could win Rose?"

I noticed his eyes glazed in and out again, just like they had done before when I had been captured. But I didn't care about it anymore, it wasn't worth it. Nothing was worth it anymore.  
I just glared at him, ignoring his question as he walked to the front of the stage and began to speak.

"Rosemarie Hathaway has been found guilty for the Murder of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Tatiana and will be sentence to hang by the neck until death."  
I cringed at the words, and couldn't help but start to look for Dimitri. If I could only just look into his eyes, I would be able to cope with everything else. Thankfully, he was in the front row, along with everyone else.

Lissa was in tears again, and so was my mother. Which was surprising as my mother never cried. I looked away from them and found Dimitri watching me with horror. I knew he was trying to think of some way to rescue me but there were far too many Guardians, and the stage had been barricaded with a wire fence. But even with all this, he still looked like he was going to try something stupid, so I shook my head indicating for him to just let it go.

His eyes filled with pain when he realised what I was asking. He didn't want to stand there and watch me die, he needed to rescue me, but we both knew that it was hopeless.  
I had been so busy watching Dimitri that I had missed everything Lord Ivashkov had said. This, I didn't care about, but it meant that it was time for the executer to pull the lever and for me to fall to my death.

I watched as the man with the black mask made his way over to the lever. His hand was an inch away from pulling it when a disturbance in the crowd stopped him.  
I looked towards where the noise was coming from and found Abe trying to get through the line of Guardians.

"Stop! I have evidence!" He yelled, almost begging for someone to listen to him. And Abe wasn't one to beg, which meant that he really must have had proof.  
I couldn't help but start to feel hope, that maybe I still had a chance. "Paula, please. Do you really want to sentence an innocent person to death?" I followed my father's gaze and found the Women who had been my Judge at both my hearing and Trial standing a few meters away from me. I was surprised that I hadn't seen her before.

She thought for a moment, unsure about what she should do.

"Alright," Paula finally said. "Let him through, I want to hear what he has to say."

"But your Honour," Nathan began to argue, but she cut him off.

"I don't know about you Lord Ivashkov, but I don't want the thought of having sent an innocent girl to her death on my conscious."

Abe made his way up to the stage and came to a stop beside me.

"Excellent timing," I said, managing to actually smile.

"I told you that I wouldn't let this happen to you," he replied, returning my smile.

Abe looked away towards the crowd and began to speak in a loud clear voice.

"I've been doing some digging, and have managed to find out some very interesting information. I have two major pieces of evidence that clearly points out that Rose Hathaway was framed." He pulled out a scrunched up piece of paper and handed it to the Judge. "Evidence number one, a note from the Queen herself addressed to Rose. I have already ran a diagnostic that shows that it is Queen Tatiana's writing and it does in fact have her DNA on it.

"And in the letter it clearly states that the Queen had suspected that something terrible would happen to her and that she could only trust Rose with the secret she was revealing in the note. I can't read out all of it, but I can share with everyone the most important parts. The Queen states in her letter the following: _  
Rose,  
If you are reading this, then something terrible has happened… I write to you with a secret you must put right, and it is a secret you must share with as few as possible…No matter your faults and dangerous temperament, you are the only one I feel can take on this task. Waste no time in fulfilling it.  
- Tatiana Ivashkov."  
_  
Everyone gasped when Abe had finished reading. He smiled; pleased that he had gotten the reaction he had wanted. Guess he wasn't such a bad lawyer after all.

"What's your next piece of evidence Mr. Mazur?" Paula asked once the shock in the crowed had died down.

"I have a witness that claims he was threatened to keep silent about some activity happening in Rose's room on the night of the murder." He gestured towards a man standing at the bottom of the stage.

"Let him up," Paula ordered.

I looked over to see Lissa's face full of relief, though I could tell that she still felt worried about the fact that they hadn't taken off the noose around my neck yet. Which, I had to admit, worried me to. But Dimitri's face on the other hand, was hard with emotion. It didn't look like he had been convinced that everything was going to work out, which concerned me.  
The man reached the front of the stage and froze, painfully aware of the many eyes on him.

"Now, Mr. Geoffrey. Could you please tell us what you witnessed on the night of the murder?" asked Abe. The man stood there for a moment, still frozen by the sight of so many people.

"Ah…yes," he finally stuttered. "I saw someone break into Miss Hathaway's room, and then exit a few minutes later with her stake in a plastic bag. It happened a few minutes before she returned back for the night."

Everyone stayed silent as Abe continued.

"What were you doing at the time?"

"I was cleaning rooms on the same floor as Miss Hathaway's at the time." He said, clearly nervous. But I couldn't blame him; I was starting to get nervous too.

"And is it true that before you had a chance to tell the authorities, you were stopped and threatened?"

Mr. Geoffrey nodded, looking quite scared now.

"Yes, they told me that if I told anyone what I saw that they would kill me just like they had killed the Queen."

No-one moved, talked or even breathed. They were to entranced by what was happening to do anything else.

"Who was the one who threatened you?" Abe asked, clearly excited by the way this was turning out.

Mr. Geoffrey took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and muttered, "Nathan Ivashkov."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, everything went crazy. The line Guardians were busy trying to calm down the crowd as they broke into a riot. Everyone began screaming, fighting and some even fainted. They were all torn over what to believe and shocked at the thought that a Royal had betrayed them. But what was most shocking was that Nathan Ivashkov didn't stand his ground or deny it. Instead he tried to do a runner, but was captured in his futile attempt. I was confused when I saw this, as I was sure he knew that he  
wouldn't be able to escape and that it would make him look even guiltier. I couldn't help but think that there was something else going on, something that we had all missed.

"Silence," Paula ordered over and over again, but eventually it worked. "With the overwhelming amount of new evidence, the execution will be postponed until we work this out. And until then, Rosemarie Hathaway is freed of all charges."

My friends and family cheered as the news sunk in. I wasn't going to die!

I met Dimitri's deep, dark eyes and smiled. We were finally going to be able to be with each other. He returned my smile and started making his through the Guardians, with Lissa and the others close behind.

I started to look around, annoyed that no-one had bothered to untie me yet. Abe was busy talking to the Judge, which left the mysterious man in the dark mask. There was something about him that I didn't trust, but he was the only other person around, so I turned my attention to him and asked, "Hey, do you reckon you can let me go?" The man stood there for a moment and then shook his head.

"Wait, what? Why won't you let me go?" This guy was really starting to annoy me; I mean what was his problem?  
I watched him as he slowly made his way over, and then leaned down to whisper, "Sorry Rose, but I can't let you go. Not when I'm so close…" My eye's bulged wide when I realised whose voice it was...

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**Thanks for reading!**

What do you guys think and most importantly who do you think the guy threatning Rose is...?

**Please remember to R&R**

**Next chapter up shortly! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

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Hey guys! As promised, here's the second last chapter. Hope you all really like it and please let me know what you think :)

Anyway, have fun reading! :D

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**~*~Chapter Ten~*~**

_I watched him as he slowly made his way over, and then leaned down to whisper, "Sorry Rose, but I can't let you go. Not when I'm so close…" My eye's bulged wide when I realised whose voice it was..._

"Victor," I gasped.

He had already started to head toward the lever when I suddenly realised what he meant.

Freaking out, I started to try and untie myself, but the noose had been wrapped around my neck to tightly.

Dimitri was the first to notice my distress and started to bolt up the stairs, trying to get to me in time. But he was too late.

"Rose!" He yelled, as Victor pulled the lever. I felt the floor disappear from underneath my feet as I began to fall, but I never did feel the rope tighten around my throat. Instead, I felt the wind get knocked out of me as Abe quickly cut the rope and pushed me onto the solid ground. I gasped for air when I realised I wasn't dead, and then quickly turned around to see Victor disappearing from view.

"Rose, are you okay?" Dimitri asked as he reached my side.

"Yes," I answered as Abe started to undo my hand cuffs. "But Victor's getting away, and I need to go stop him."

I started to get up as Lissa and the others reached me.

"Rose, you can't go after Victor now, just let him go."

Lissa froze when she heard Dimitri mention Victor's name.

"I have to, he's too dangerous to just ignore." I looked them all in the eyes, trying to convey how serious I was. "I'm going, and you can't stop me." And with that I ran off into the direction Victor had gone.  
I had caught them all by surprise, which had given me a head start, but it wasn't long until Dimitri was running alongside me. He didn't say a word or try to stop me, for which I was grateful for. I didn't have time to stop and have an argument with him now.

We had been running for a couple of minutes when we finally found him. He was standing in the middle of a grassy clearing, a huge smirk on his face. I didn't know why he had stopped until I noticed the red rings around is bright-green eyes. He had turned Stirgoi.

"Ah, Rose and Dimitri, it's so nice to see you both again."

Victor started towards us, eyes gleaming with excitement. Dimitri got out his stake and passed me the spare one I had used when escaping the Stirgoi's secret base.

"What's this? You're going to try and kill me before we've even had a chance to speak? That's not very polite."

He came closer and we got ready to lunge, but we didn't need to. Victor shrieked out in pain as his arm began to burn. I turned around to notice that Christian, Lissa, Eddie and Thomas had entered the clearing. Christian was using his power to try and distract Victor long enough for us to strike. But before we had a chance, the flames went out.  
"Stop," A voice ordered. Everyone turned around to see none other than Victor's brother, Robert, step out from behind an oak tree. He was also a Spirit user like Lissa. But unlike her, he was now Stirgoi.

Christian's eyes glazed over as he obeyed Robert's command.

"Hey, come on Christian, snap out of it," Lissa pleaded as she tried to shake him out of his dream-like state. But Robert's compulsion was to strong, it must have been amplified when he turned Stirgoi. He didn't even need to look Christian in the eye to control him.

"Guys, come over here and put Lissa and Christian in the middle," I ordered. They quickly obeyed and soon Eddie, Thomas, Dimitri and I were all standing back to back, acting like a force field so the other two wouldn't get hurt.

"Do you like Robert's new abilities?" Victor asked cheerfully. "It's been very useful when I've been trying to fool everyone." He was watching me intently, trying to get me to understand the meaning behind his words. But I had already worked it out before he had even said anything.

"You used compulsion on Adrian's dad, to make it look like he was the one behind it all." Victor laughed.

"Yes, very clever, but he's not the only one we've been using it on." He looked towards where Thomas was standing, and it all clicked together.

"So, that's how the Stirgoi always knew where they were," I thought aloud. Victor nodded.

"Exactly."

We both stared at each over for a while until he finally said, "Well, we should probably get this over and done with before anyone else arrives. But, it's seems a little unfair for Robert and I to fight against the four of you, so how about we even the odds."

He nodded towards Robert, who in turn ordered Thomas to begin fighting us.

Surprised by the sudden change of events, I was only just able to turn around in time to deflect Thomas' punch with my forearm. Robert started fighting Eddie, while Dimitri took on Victor. Lissa was on the ground with Christian, still trying to get him to snap out of the compulsion.

Thomas came charging at me again, stake in hand. I step out of the way and grabbed his arm, trying to get him to drop his stake. But he was to strong, so I went to plan B.  
"Sorry about this," I said as I smacked him on the head with the bottom of my stake. It wasn't hard enough to kill him, but it was enough to knock him out cold.

With Thomas taken care of, I moved over to help Dimitri. Victor was a good fighter, but we were better and he soon started to struggle. I kicked him in the chest and swiped his legs from underneath him, making him fall to the ground. And before he could get up again, I struck my stake into his arm so hard that it completely went through it and embedded itself into the ground. Victor screamed out in pain, which caught Robert's attention. This gave Eddie the chance to strike him in the chest, but he missed and got him in the stomach instead.

"You've lost," Dimitri said as he prepared his stake for the final blow. But Victor just laughed.

"Are you sure about that?" he taunted menacingly.

I followed his gaze to where Lissa was and saw Thomas heading straight for her, his stake ready to plunge into her back.

"No, Lissa!" I screamed, as I bolted over to where she was sitting.

Thomas was a second away from striking when I smacked into Lissa and pushed her out of the way, taking the full impact of the stake instead. I could feel blood start to pour out of my stomach as I collapsed to the ground, withering in pain.

"Rose!" Everyone yelled in unison. I heard the sound of Victor and Robert's cry, and knew that someone had finished them off.

"Rose, look at me. Come on," Dimitri said as he tried to stop the bleeding. Lissa, Eddie and Christian were also beside me, the effects of compulsion had worn off as soon as Robert had died and I could hear Thomas yelling out in rage, in complete shock that he had hurt one of his friends.

Lissa placed her hand over my wound, trying to heal it. But she couldn't because of the medication she had taken.

"Argh!" She cried out, feeling completely useless.

I was starting to see black as I started to slowly fade into unconsciousness, and was about to close my eyes completely when I felt someone shaking my shoulders.

"No, Rose, keep your eyes open," Dimitri demanded. "Help will be here soon." He tried to get me to squeeze his hand, but I couldn't respond.

"Adrian!" Lissa exclaimed as he ran into the clearing, my mother, Tasha and Mia not far behind him. They all noticed the pool of blood beside me and hurried over to where I laid.

"What the hell happened to her," Adrian asked in alarm.

"She got stabbed with a stake, but we don't have time to talk about that now!" Lissa said frantically. "Adrian, have you had a drink at all lately?"

He shook his head, looking concerned about where she was going with this. "Then please, try and heal her wound." He looked down at my stomach and then back up to Lissa.

"But I've never healed anything this big before," he pointed out, afraid that he would somehow stuff it up and make it worse.

"It doesn't matter. Please, just give it ago," begged Lissa.

"We don't know how far away help is and we're running out of time," Dimitri said urgently, still trying to stop the bleeding. "Please, just try and see what happens."

Adrian looked into my eyes, and I knew that he would be seeing complete pain and agony radiating from them. Seeing this, he quickly agreed and placed his hands over my stomach.

He closed his eyes and tried to reach the magic. At first nothing happened, but then I began to feel numbness in my stomach as the pain slowly faded away. It was a long process, but eventually the bleeding stopped.

Adrian opened his eyes, and almost collapsed from the amount of energy he had used. Everyone sighed in relief when they realised that Lissa's plan had worked and that all that was left was a nasty pink scar.

Not long after that, the medics turned up and placed me on a stretcher, insisting that they should still take me back to hospital for overnight observation.

Adrian looked towards me as they placed me in the back of the small ambulance, and I quickly mouthed him thanks before I was out of view. Dimitri, Lissa, my mother and even Abe stayed by side the whole way back to the hospital, constantly making sure that I wasn't in pain.

I was given the same room I had been in last time, but this time I didn't need to be bound to the bed.

Not long after arriving, Abe and my mother left to get a coffee, leaving only Dimitri, Lissa and myself in the room. Lissa began to thank me and tell me how stupid I was sacrificing my life for her own, but I shook my head.

"I'm your Guardian," I whispered. She smiled and I squeezed her hand, trying to let her know that I would always be here for her.

Dimitri clasped my other hand in both of his and tenderly kissed me on the lips.

"Please don't ever do that to me again," he pleaded.

I nodded and softly said, "Okay, I'll do my best."

We talked little after that, and I suspected it was because they knew I needed sleep. But me being the stubborn person I am, I tried to stay awake, wanting to spend more time with them.

But unable to keep my eyes open any longer, I drifted off to sleep, knowing for the first time in ages that everything was going to be okay.

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**That's the end of the chapter!**

I hoped you all enjoyed it :)

**Please remember to R&R**

Last Chapter will be up very soon, like maybe tomorrow if I have time! XD


	11. Epilogue

**Hey everyone! This is what you've all been waiting for and now it's finally here! I hope you all really like the ending to my story and I really hope I don't disappoint any of you. Also, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has read my story so far, and an even bigger thank you to those who wrote me comments, you guys really got me through this story with all your positive and encouraging feedback, so thank you! :D**

**Anyway, here's the final chapter/epilogue to, "My version of the Last Sacrifice."**

**Enjoy! :D **

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~*~Epilogue~*`

I ROLLED OVER TO TURN off the alarm that was ruining my sleep, but someone else bet me to it.

"Come on, we need to get up." The soft voice came from the man beside me. I smiled as I reached out for his warm body, desperately wanting to go back to sleep. I felt Dimitri's warm breath in my hair as he chuckled. "You know Lissa would never forgive you if you missed Ella's birthday," he said, while tracing patterns on my bare back.

I sighed.

"Yes, I know. But we still have an hour before we have to be at the party," I pointed out.

"And you want to spend all that time sleeping?" He asked, still tracing patterns on my back. I rolled over so I could look into his deep, dark brown eyes and started to lean in close.

"Well not exactly," I said, trying to get across the double meaning behind my words. But he didn't need any help, he knew what I wanted and quickly closed the small gap between us.

Fifty minutes later, Dimitri and I were dressed and making our way over to Lissa and Christian's house. Well, it really wasn't a house, more like a mansion. It had been eight years since my name had been cleared, and Victor rightfully found guilty- though it didn't really matter as Dimitri had already killed him- and not long after the mess had been cleaned up, Nathan Ivashkov had been revoked from his title and Lissa had been chosen to be Queen, which was why she was now living in Tatiana's old building with Christian. Which meant, with her living at Court, Dimitri and I had a lot more time to be together.

Christian had asked Lissa to marry him two years after she had become Queen, and now had the title, 'King Christian,' which I was still trying to get use to.

But what was even harder to get use to was the fact that they had two young children, Alaric and Eleanor. Alaric is five, and a complete trouble make like his Dad, and Ella is celebrating her third birthday today.

I shook my head, amazed by how fast the years had past. It seemed like just yesterday that Lissa and I were back at school getting into trouble. Well, okay, just me getting into trouble, but Lissa was always there laughing at how impossible I was.

I snapped out of my thoughts as we reached the front door and knocked. Lissa opened the door with a big smile on her face, and an overly excited Ella bouncing in her arms.

"Bose!" Ella shouted out when she saw me. I smiled and tickled her feet playfully.

"Hey Ella," Dimitri said as he passed her a small package.

"Yay! Pesent!" she screamed, climbing out of Lissa's arms and ripping open the wrapping paper. We all laughed as we walked over to the couch. Christian came out of the kitchen with some drinks and handed us all one.

"Ohhhh… Pretty," said Ella as she opened the box. She picked up the object inside and walked over to where we were sitting. "Look mummy! Bose and Mitri got me a bracelet." She held up the silver piece of jewellery that had a little love heart attached to it.

"That's very beautiful. Now, what do you say to Rose and Dimitri?" Lissa asked in her motherly tone. Ella thought for a moment and then said, "Tank you!"

I couldn't help but smile.

"That's okay. Dimitri and I thought it would be good idea, as you can put new charms on it every year you get older." I mentioned to her as I latched the bracelet onto her wrist. She giggled happily as she twirled around the room and then quickly disappeared to go play with her brother.

"I swear, they are like exact copies of you two," I said once Ella had disappeared. And it was true, Ella had Christian's black messy hair and Lissa's bright jade green eyes, while Alaric had Lissa's light blonde hair and Christian's pale blue eyes.

"Yeah, well that's what happens when two people have kids. I thought that with you being you and all that you would have a pretty good idea of how babies are made," Christian taunted. I rolled my eyes at him, taking a sip of wine from my glass.

"So, how are the classes going?" Dimitri asked Christian.

"Yeah, really well. Heaps of Moroi are wanting to learn how to fight now that they've finally realise how much better off they would be knowing how to defend themselves. Jill's even managed to set up some self-defense classes at schools for the Moroi students to participate in if they want," explained Christian.

A few years back, Lissa and Christian had been able to convince the Council members to let Moroi learn to fight, and Jill had been doing everything she could to try and help them out. Also, Lissa had managed to get Spirit acknowledged as a fifth element, and there were now special classes all over the world for people who had specialised in it. Lissa and I had both been surprised by the amount of Spirit users out there, but also happy to know that she would be able to help so many people.

"Is Jill coming today?" I asked Lissa, who looked like she was deep in thought.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sorry no. She wasn't able to come today, but she's going to send Ella's gift by mail. The others should be her soon though," she said, looking at the clock.

And she was right, a few minutes later there was a knock on the door and Adrian, Mia, Eddie, Tasha and my mother walked in.

A lot of things had happened since the year of my trial. Adrian and Mia had finally opened up to each other, and were now currently dating. I smiled as I hugged Mia hello, happy that she had been able to undo the damage I had done to Adrian so many years ago.

Adrian hadn't changed much, but he had slightly- and I mean very slightly- matured over the years, which was mostly to do with his father. After Nathan had been proved to have been under compulsion when he tried to frame me, Adrian and his father had began to talk more and have a better understanding of each other. Nathan's experience of almost loosing hiself had made him realise that he wanted to have a better relationship with his son, so that if something were to ever happened to him again, he would know that Adrian no longer despised him. And even though Adrian still wanted nothing to do with the family buisness-which he claimed to be to much hard work- his father was able to accept that and move on, proving to everyone just how much he had changed.

Eddie, on the other hand had been assigned a position in the Queen's Guard, thanks to Lissa, which was the highest rank you could get. He was also Lissa's personal Guardian, along with myself, and our job was to protect her whenever she left the safety of the Royal Court.

So many things had changed, but the one thing that hadn't was the way I felt about Dimitri. We loved each other with all our hearts, but had decided against getting married. We didn't need too, we were already happy with what we had and didn't want it to change.

"Hey, little Dhampir," Adrian called out, bringing me back to the real world. "Come over here so we can take a picture."

I smiled and walked over to where everyone was positioned on the couch. Dimitri wrapped his arms around my waist as I sat on his lap, and waited for one of the servants to take the photo. It was a long wait though as Ella and Alaric had to settle down first. They were both completely high on sugar, but we eventually managed to get the photo taken.

Lissa thanked the servant as they bowed and left the room. Wanting to see the photo, I slipped off Dimitri's lap and walked over to Lissa's side. She handed me the digital camera and my face lit up with joy.

Seeing everyone together like this reminded me of how lucky I was to still be here. I could still remember the days when I thought I would have to face my death. But thankfully, Abe had shown up just in time.

My relationship with my father was still shaky, but he did pop in from time to time to catch up with me and make sure Dimitri was still taking good care of me. Unlike my mother, Abe had a few words he wanted to say to Dimitri when he found out about us. I chuckled as I remembered the look on Dimitri's face as Abe described to him in detail what he would do to him if he ever hurt me.

But, Abe was wasting his time. I knew Dimitri would never break my heart, he had only done that once in his life and still regretted it to this day.

"Are you ready to go?" I looked over my shoulder to see Dimitri's strong, lean figure behind me. I nodded and somehow managed to turn my attention back to Lissa.

"Yeah, sorry we better go," I said, giving her a hug goodbye.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. And Remember, we're going shopping like you promised, so don't come in Guardian mode. I actually want to have fun with my best friend, and not be constantly taken care of from Guardian Hathaway, okay?" I rolled my eyes at her as I headed for the door.

"Yes, mother," I teased. She poked out her tongue like a two year old and we both laughed.

"See you everyone," I said as I grabbed hold of Dimitri's hand and led him out into the hallway. I heard everyone mumble their goodbyes as we closed the door and made our way back to our room.

"You seem like you're in a good mode," Dimitri pointed out.

I spun around and raised my eye brow at him.

"And what's supposed to mean," I questioned, but he held up his hands in defense.

"Nothing, just that you seem really happy. More so than usual," he added, seeing the look on my face.

I laughed at his expression. He hated getting into trouble with me.

"Relax Comrade," I said using my old nickname for him, which earnt me and intoxicating smile. "I knew what you meant. And yeah, you're right. I was just thinking about how lucky I am to still be here. Eight years ago I had thought that I would never have been able to have these kinds of opportunities again," I explained.

He wrapped his arms around me and brought me close.

"What kind of opportunities exactly?" he asked softly.

"Just to be able to live each day as the years go by and most importantly…" I stepped up onto the tips of my toes and tenderly kissed him on the lips. "…to kiss you again," I finished.

He smiled warmly at me as he cupped my cheek.

"Don't you remember Roza, I told you that wasn't going to be our last kiss."

He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine, kissing me with such force that it made my head spin from the lack of oxygen. But I didn't care, because kissing Dimitri was better than breathing, and it was something that I got to do for the rest of my life.

THE END

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**Well, that's the end of the story! **

**I hoped you all enjoyed it and remember to let me know what you think :)**

**Do you think I should write more fanfiction stories? **

**Anyway, until I write again, goodbye and thank you for reading :) **

**xx**


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